STOEM-DEIVEN. 


MARY   HEALY, 

AUTHOR   OF   "  LAEEVILLE,"    "A   SUMMER'S   ROMANCE,"    "OUT 
OF   THE   WORLD,"   ETC. 


IN  THREE   VOLUMES. 
VOL.   1. 


SAMPSON  LOW,  MARSTON,  SEARLE,  &  RIVINGTON, 

CROWN  BUILDINGS,  188,  FLEET  STREET. 

1876. 

[All  rights  reserved.] 


LONDON : 

GILBERT   AND   RIVING'ION,    PRINTERS, 
ST.    JOHN'S   SQUARE. 


CONTENTS    TO   VOLUME   I. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

THE  BELLE  OF  THE  EVENING         ...        1 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  REYEESE  OF  THE  MEDAL        .         .        .31 

CHAPTER  HI. 
ORPHANS 51 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  TEMPLE  DISASTEII  ....       66 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  RICHARDS  FAMILY          ...  80 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SOME  FLOWERS        .         . 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

WOKK     .         .  .         .         .         .         .125 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
A  LITEEARY  VENTURE    .....     142 

CHAPTER  IX. 
FAILTJEE          . 171 

CHAPTER  X. 
MRS.  Cox .     189 

CHAPTER  XI. 

ALL    THAT    GLITTERS    IS    NOT    GOLD  .  .       210 

CHAPTER  XII. 
OUT  IN  THE  BIG  WORLD        .         .         .         .     224 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
ON  BOARD  237 


STORM-DRIVEN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING. 

MRS.  Cox  was  entertaining  her  friends,  one 
cold  winter  night.  When  Mrs.  Cox  gave 
a  ball,  it  was  an  event  in  Lakeville.  No 
wonder,  for  her  balls  were  not  like  other 
balls,  neither  was  her  house  like  the  houses 
of  ordinary  mortals ;  neither,  for  that 
matter,  was  she  like  the  women  about  her. 
Her  acquaintances,  when  they  received, 
threw  open  the  two  parlours,  and  perhaps 
a  library  as  well,  and  the  guests  went  to 

VOL.    I.  B 


2  STORM-DEI  YEN. 

the  dining-room  below,  for  supper.  Mrs. 
Cox  had  a  suite  of  drawing-rooms,  she 
never  said  "  parlour ; "  Mrs.  Brown  or 
Mrs.  Smith  might  boast  of  a  strip  of  hot 
house  by  way  of  luxury  : — Mrs.  Cox  had, 
opening  from  her  private  boudoir,  a  con 
servatory  filled  with  the  rarest  flowers,  and 
beyond  this,  a  marvel  of  a  winter  garden, 
high  enough  to  admit  of  a  superb  palm  in 
the  centre,  large  enough  to  allow  of  intri 
cate  paths  crossing  each  other  in  every 
direction  among  the  tropical  plants.  The 
whole  was  visible  in  a  mysterious  half-light. 
At  one  end  there  was  a  fountain,  with  water 
trickling  from  a  rocky  background,  where 
played  a  couple  of  vividly- coloured  Japa 
nese  ducks ;  and  in  another  corner  was  an 
immense  cage  filled  with  strange,  beautiful 
birds. 

The  mistress  of  the  house  moved  among 


THE   EELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  3 

her  guests,  bestowing  on  one  a  smile,  on 
another  a  word;  followed  wherever  she 
went  by  her  own  particular  set  of  admirers, 
composed  in  general  of  notabilities.  She 
had  been  at  various  European  courts,  and 
had  conscientiously  studied  the  attitudes 
and  gestures  of  the  different  sovereigns, 
just  as  an  actress  studies  the  minutia3  of 
her  part,  and  she  had  really  not  lost  her 
time.  She  was  nearly  a  head  taller  than 
the  generality  of  women,  and  carried  her 
unusual  height  well.  Her  beauty  was  not 
above  criticism  perhaps,  but  it  was  of  a 
striking  kind ;  dark  hair  against  a  white 
skin,  features  regular  enough,  and  the 
whole  so  carefully  restored  by  art,  as  to 
give  still  an  illusion  of  youth ;  so  skilfully 
enhanced  too  by  her  peculiar  and  inimitable 
style  of  dress,  that  the  pretensions,  which 
in  another  woman  would  have  been  simply 
B  2 


4  STORM-DRIVEN. 

ridiculous,  with  her  seemed  almost  justified. 
Then,  what  perhaps  most  helped  her  to 
carry  out  her  chosen  part,  was  that,  on  her 
bare  neck,  and  in  her  dark  hair,  shone  and 
glittered  diamonds,  which  a  royal  princess 
need  not  have  disdained.  This  put  her  at 
once  on  a  different  footing  from  her  neigh 
bours,  who  mostly  had  not  been  rich  long 
enough  to  possess  more  than  a  few  of  those 
glittering  baubles. 

It  was  no  wonder  that,  while  Mrs.  Cox 
slowly  advanced  with  her  studied  smile,  and 
her  graceful  bend  of  the  neck,  there  should 
mingle  with  the  admiration  she  excited, 
much  hatred,  malice,  and  uncharitableness. 
She  was  quite  as  well  aware  of  the  envy  as 
of  the  admiration,  and  enjoyed  one  perhaps 
as  much  as  the  other. 

The  couples  wandering  from  the  ball 
room  passed  slowly  to  and  fro ;  they  were 


THE    BELLE    OP   THE   EVENING.  5 

mostly  young,  for  married  people  in  Lake- 
ville  were  at  a  discount ;  so  that  the  proces 
sion  was  a  pretty  one  to  watch.  Young 
girls,  fresh  and  bright-eyed,  brushed  past 
the  sweet-smelling  flowers  with  which  the 
rooms  were  lavishly  decorated  ;  rich 
oriental  hangings  formed  a  gorgeous  back 
ground  to  the  young  beauties.  The  music, 
softly  subdued,  followed  them  with  caress 
ing  modulations,  and  unconsciously  they 
measured  their  steps  to  the  time- 
beats. 

Outside,  the  snow  lay  crisp  and  hard; 
belated  passengers  hurried  on,  shivering, 
just  glancing  at  the  broad  stretches  of 
light  from  the  many  windows,  which  made 
the  dark  solemn  tree-trunks  visible,  and 
lighted  up  the  broad  gravelled  walks  of  the 
frozen  garden. 

"  "What  a  handsome  couple  !  "  exclaimed 


6  STOEM-DRIVEN. 

one  of  a  group  of  wallflowers.     "  Who  are 
they?" 

"  A  foolish  girl  playing  at  being  in  love, 
&nd  a  young  man  helping  her  in  the  game  " 
— this,  from  a  sharp-eyed  woman  more 
plainly  dressed  than  her  friends. 

"  Do  you  know  them  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  the  girl  is  Lil  Temple." 

"  Well  ?  " 

"  Well  ?  why  nothing  more.  Lil  is  but 
a  blank  page  as  yet ;  in  a  few  years  we 
shall  see  what  she  will  turn  out  to  be.  She 
is  merely  expectant  now.  Men  like  blank 
pages." 

"  Because  they  can  best  write  their 
names  on  such.'J 

"  Precisely.  There  are  girls  who  write 
down  something  of  their  own  accord,  but 
those  never  c  succeed  in  society/  as  it  is 
called ;  take  her  sister  Martha  for  instance, 


THE    BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  7 


— who  is  worth  ten  of  Lil,  and  who,  at  a 
party,  acts  wallflower  almost  as  much  as 
though  she  were  married  like  ourselves — 
or  my  Issy,  who  is  clever,  and  knows  it ! 
Men  do  not  like  clever  girls — " 

"  And  who  is  he  ?  " 

"By  profession  a  handsome  man;  by 
accident  the  nephew  of  an  eccentric  old 
fellow  who  allows  him  ten  thousand  dol 
lars  a-year,  and  who,  as  likely  as  not,  will 
not  leave  him  a  cent  when  he  dies.  Ame 
rica  is  not  good  enough  for  Mr.  Leigh 
Ward  as  a  usual  thing,  and  I  am  of  opi 
nion  that  he  is  not  good  enough  for  Ame 
rica.  We  do  not  want  fine  idlers  among 
us,  there  is  no  place  for  them.  He  makes 
verses,  he  is  a  musician,  sings  not  too 
badly,  composes  too,  and  if  by  chance  he 
had  to  depend  on  any  one  of  his  accom 
plishments  for  his  daily  bread,  he  would  risk 


8  STORM-DRIVEN. 

greatly  to  die  of  hunger.  His  poet-nature 
despises  shops  and  offices,  and  the  low 
creatures  who  therein  resort.  He  is  always 
in  love,  and  always  with  the  belle  of  the 
place  and  moment;  it  is  Lil's  turn  now — " 

"  You  are  hard  on  Mr.  Ward/'  said  an 
other  lady  who  had  not  yet  spoken,  "  he  is 
a  very  charming  young  man." 

"  Of  course  he  is,  otherwise  Mrs.  Cox 
would  not  have  given  him  a  place  of  honour 
in  her  court  or  '  menagerie,'  as  she  herself 
calls  it." 

"Oh,  indeed,  is — ?"  and  the  ques 
tioner  stopped  discreetly. 

"My  dear,  you  are  evidently  a  new 
comer ;  no,  certainly  not !  no  one  has  a 
right  to  question  Ann  Cox's  reputation  ; 
she  went  into  partnership  with  virtue 
when  she  married,  and  the  firm  has  pros 
pered.  Excellent  business  woman  !  supe- 


THE    BELLE    OP   THE   EVENING.  9 

rior  business  woman !  She  always  places 
her  capital  at  the  very  highest  and  surest  in 
terest.  Old  Cox,  whom  honest  men  shrank 
from  shaking  by  the  hand,  was  tenderly 
proud  of  his  wife's  untainted  reputation ; 
he  proved  it  by  leaving  her  every  cent  of  his 
enormous  and  ill-gotten  wealth." 

"But  now?" 

"  Now  ?  .  .  .  .  Once  a  habit  taken,  you 
know,  it  is  all  smooth  sailing  enough ;  be 
sides,  she  laughs  at  sentiment ;  love  seems 
to  her  a  comical  delusion ;  she  was  born 
with  a  bag  of  gold  in  the  place  of  a  heart, 
and  there  is  wisdom  in  her  prudence.  Some 
day  when  she  finds  a  very  big  title,  and  a 
name  of  fine-sounding  syllables,  she  will 
marry  again,  to  make  people  forget  that 
she  was  ever  called  by  one  spelled  with  but 
three  letters." 

At  that  moment  the  hostess  passed  by 


10  STORM-DRIVEN. 

with  her  slow  stately  step ;  she  stopped 
before  the  group  of  gossiping  women,  and 
found  something  pleasant  to  say  to  each. 
There  was  not  one  who  did  not  respond 
gladly  to  her  advance,  not  one  who  was 
not  flattered  by  the  attention  bestowed. 

"  They  had  been  tearing  me  to  pieces,'* 
said  Mrs.  Cox,  with  a  good-natured  laugh, 
as  she  passed  on,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  a 
tall  handsome  man ;  "  and  will  begin  again 
in  a  moment — I  saw  it  on  their  faces,"  and 
she  laughed  again,  it  really  amused  her. 

The  prediction  was  fully  realized. 

"  I  suppose  it's  her  diamonds,"  groaned 
Mrs.  Richards,  her  black  bead  eyes  gleam 
ing  with  comical  despair  ;  "  no  woman  can 
resist  their  glitter,  and  we  all  naturally 
bow  down  before  their  lucky  possessor ; 
even  I — I  who  knew  Ann  when  she  and  T 
were  poor  girls  together,  she  poorer  than  I 


THE    BELLE    OF   THE    EVENING.  11 

then,  for  we  are  just  of  an  age — yes  !  you 
do  not  believe  it,  but  it  is  true.  I  used  to 
patronize  her;  now  she  crushes  me,  she 
annihilates  me  with  her  patronage,  and  I 
submit  to  it,  and  all  because  she  is  rich, 
whereas  I  am  poor.  Mr.  Richards  has  no 
luck,  he  never  had." 

"  Not  even,  on  his  wedding-day  ?  " 

"  Not  even  then,  dear !  .  .  .  .  Here, 
John,  come  and  find  my  self-respect  for  me ; 
I  lost  it  just  now  in  the  crowd." 

The  young  man  she  familiarly  called 
"  John,"  advanced,  and  took  a  chair  by  her 
side.  He  was  not  as  Mrs.  Eichards  had 
said  of  another  "  by  profession  a  handsome 
man;"  there  was  nothing  but  the  expres 
sion  of  his  fine  deep-set  eyes  to  redeem  his 
face  from  positive  plainness. 

"  How  did  you  come  to  lose  that  very 
useful  article?"  asked  he,  smiling;  the 


12  STORM-DRIVEN. 

women  about  him  decided  that  his  was  not 
an  ordinary  smile,  and  they  were  right. 

"  By  licking  the  dust  before  the  queen's 
feet — I !  the  very  perfection  of  democracy  ! 
But  let  us  speak  of  something  else.  I 
hear  you  are  getting  to  be  a  favourite  in 
our  world;  fine  ladies  go  to  your  painting- 
room,  and  vow  that  you  are  charming  when 
there  are  not  too  many  people  near.  Your 
timidity  is  a  sham  !  you  have  taken  me 
in—" 

"  I  think  not.  If  you  knew  how  out  of 
place  I  feel  here  to-night ;  how  well  I  know 
that  I  am  not  one  of  these  fine  idlers ; 
how  delightful  my  shabby  studio  seems  to 
me,  in  comparison  with  these  gorgeous 


rooms — " 


"  Then  why  do  you  stay  ?  " 
For  an  instant  the  young  man  was  un 
able    to   find   an  answer.     A  slight   flush 


THE   BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  13 

passed  over  his  face.  Then  quickly  he 
said. — 

"  Because  I  was  waiting  for  an  oppor 
tunity  to  speak  to  you." 

"  You  are  making  decided  progress,  my 
dear  young  friend.  I  might  tell  you  that  I 
have  been  here  in  my  corner  all  the  even 
ing,  not  having  been  overwhelmed  with 
attentions — but  I  won't.  Why  do  you  not 
come  and  see  us?  Issy  has  finished  se 
veral  drawings,  and  made  some  sketches 
which  she  wishes  to  show  you." 

"  I  have  been  very  busy;  I  am  preparing 
to  return  to  Paris,  but  I  will  certainly  call. 
Tell  Miss  Issy  whatever  she  does,  never  to 
work,  except  from  nature." 

Even  while  he  spoke  his  eyes  wandered 
from  group  to  group  uneasily.  Mrs. 
Richards,  whom  nothing  escaped,  said, — 

"  Not  that  way.     She  must  be  in  the 


14  STOBM-DRIVEN. 

conservatory,   I  should  guess,  with  Leigli 
Ward." 

Once  more  the  slight  flush  passed  over 
his  face,  and  after  a  few  more  words  he 
sauntered  away,  not  in  the  direction  of  the 
conservatory. 

Mrs.  Richards  had  spoken  of  John  Bruce' s 
growing  popularity ;  but  as  the  young  man 
moved  about,  almost  unnoticed  in  the  crowd, 
that  popularity  was  certainly  not  very  ap 
parent.  The  truth  was  that,  in  Mrs.  Cox's 
circle,  he  was  still  almost  unknown ;  the 
fashionable  world  accepts  reputations  al 
ready  made,  but  it  has  no  time  to  seek  out 
obscure  talent.  Yet,  there  was  a  certain 
interest  attaching  to  John's  history — an 
interest  which  a  man  of  less  simple  nature 
would  have  turned  to  good  account. 

Some  eighteen  years  before,  when  Lake- 
ville  was  still  a  straggling,  ill-kept,  pros- 


THE   BELLE   OF   THE    EVENING.  15 

perous,  and  vastly  ambitious  young  town, 
a  physician,  Dr.  Bruce,  had  arrived  from 
the  East,  with  his  wife  and  two  young  chil 
dren,  determined  to  make  his  fortune.  He 
took  a  very  tall,  very  ill-built,  but  very 
showy  frame-house,  at  a  high  rent,  caused 
a  very  big  brass  plate  to  be  fastened  to  his 
front  door,  and  confidently  awaited  the 
crowds  of  patients  which  should  have 
hastened  to  him.  Perhaps  the  Lakevillites 
had  no  time  to  be  ill ;  perhaps  they  were 
satisfied  with  their  own  doctors ;  perhaps 
they  were  displeased  at  the  supercilious 
ness  with  which  the  Boston  man  looked  at 
all  things  appertaining  to  the  West; — at 
any  rate,  Dr.  Bruce  waited  in  vain  for  the 
crowds  that  were  to  make  his  fortune. 
Some  land  speculations,  which  were  to 
have  made  a  rich  man  of  the  doctor,  proved 
disastrous;  debts  became  pressing,  and, 


16  STORM-DEI  VEX. 

when  things  were  beginning  to  look  very 
very  black  indeed,  the  unfortunate  man 
suddenly  died,  leaving  nothing  but  debts 
behind  him. 

Mrs.  Bruce  had  no  time  to  mourn  over 
the  death  of  her  husband,  of  whom  she  had 
been  passionately  fond ;  she  had  her  chil 
dren's  bread  to  earn.  She  had  studied 
medicine  a  little  with  the  poor  doctor,  and 
she  went  out  as  nurse.  John,  who  was 
but  a  little  fellow  at  the  time,  understood 
with  the  precocity  which  poverty  gives  to 
children,  that  he  also  must  earn  money. 
One  evening  he  came  home  with  a  handful 
of  coppers,  which  he  poured  in  his  mother's 
lap;  he  had  become  a  news-boy,  and 
shouted  "  Tribune,  sir  ?  Here's  your  Even 
ing  Post  !  "  with  hearty  good- will  and  pro 
portionate  success.  But  at  night,  and 
during  all  the  leisure  moments  which  he 


THE    BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  17 

could  secure,  lie  would  draw,  make  heads, 
animals,  compose  little  scenes ;  this  had 
been  a  passion  with  him  ever  since  his 
earliest  childhood — a  passion  which  his 
father,  proud  of  his  son's  real  talent,  had 
encouraged,  but  which  now  caused  his 
mother  to  shake  her  head.  "What  could  it 
lead  to  ?  Perhaps  her  reasoning,  and  the 
hard  necessities  of  life,  would  at  last  have 
triumphed,  and  John  might  have  become  a 
counter-jumper,  had  not,  by  good  luck,  a 
famous  painter  from  Boston — a  man  as  full 
of  kindliness  as  of  talent — paid  a  long  visit 
to  Lakeville.  John,  then  almost  a  young 
man,  went,  with  beating  heart  and  flushed 
cheeks,  to  the  artist,  and  begged  him  to 
look  at  his  sketches.  "Where  did  you 
learn  to  draw  like  that  ?"  asked  the  painter, 
greatly  interested;  and  when  John  had 
told  his  story,  had  spoken  of  the  obstacles 
VOL.  i.  c 


18  STORM-DEI  YEN. 

in  his  way,  he  grew  still  more  interested. 
The  result  was,  that  a  few  months  later, 
John  was  on  his  way  to  Paris ;  a  number 
of  rich  men,  Mr.  Temple  at  their  head,  had 
clubbed  together,  and  secured  to  him  the 
means  of  studying  for  five  years  in  peace. 
He  had  not  lost  his  time,  and  already  those 
who  had  leisure  to  think  about  such  things, 
were  beginning  to  be  proud  of  the  Lake- 
ville  painter. 

Mr.  Leigh  Ward,  in  his  travels,  had  seen 
many  beautiful  women,  of  widely  differing 
types  ;  but  as  he  looked  at  the  young  girl 
by  his  side,  his  artistic  nature  was  satisfied, 
even  when  he  compared  her  with  those 
other  women.  Yet  Lil  was  not  strictly 
beautiful ;  she  was  merely  pretty,  very 
fresh,  and  her  movements  were  perfectly 
graceful;  she  had  a  peculiarity  which 
arrested  attention ;  her  eyes  were  very 


THE    BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  19 

blue,  while  the  eyelashes  which  shaded 
them  were  black,  and  the  heavy  hair  quite 
dark.  She  was  usually  too  pale,  as  is  often 
the  case  with  her  fair  countrywomen,  and 
her  delicately  cut  features  were  wanting  a 
little  in  individuality;  still,  Mr.  Ward, 
who  was  a  connoisseur,  was  satisfied.  He 
listened,  well  pleased,  to  her  talk,  which 
was  not  very  original  perhaps ;  but  then 
her  voice  was  unusually  low  and  sweet — 
refreshingly  so  in  a  land  where  the  prettiest 
women  often  destroy  the  charm  they  ought 
to  exert,  by  their  shrill,  loud  talk.  He  was 
not  in.  love  with  this  charming  girl ;  but 
then,  playing  at  being  in  love  is  not  a 
disagreeable  game;  his  imagination  was 
roused  pleasantly,  and  imagination  on 
certain  occasions  is  a  very  good  substitute 
for  the  heart. 

The  two  were  slowly  making  their  way 
c  2 


20  STORM-DRIVEN. 

among  the  graceful  plants  of  the  winter 
garden,  Lil's  white  dress  brushing  against 
the  big  deep  green  leaves.  There  were 
but  few  wanderers  here,  and  these  kept 
discreetly  at  a  distance. 

"  But  you  who  have  been  every  where, " 
Lil  was  saying,  "  in  the  East,  in  Italy,  in 
France,  must  find  Lakeville  very  tame,  and 
Lakeville  people  very  provincial." 

"  I  do  not  think  that  anywhere  could  be 
found  a  paradise  more  lovely  than  this,  or 
boasting  so  fair  an  Eve." 

"I  wish  you  would  not  pay  me  compli 
ments,"  said  Lil,  looking  at  him  with  her 
frank  innocent  eyes. 

"Why  not?"  he  answered,  smiling  at 
her  earnestness.  "  Would  you  rather  have 
me  say,  with  brutish  frankness,  '  Ton  my 
word,  Miss  Temple,  you're  a  devilish  pretty 
girl '  ?  What  you  call  compliments  is  but 


THE   BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  21 

a  way  of  dressing  up  what  one  wishes  to 
say ;  mere  courtesy,  which  is  the  ornament 
of  life,  necessary  to  it,  just  as  a  gilt  frame 
is  necessary  to  enhance  the  value  of  a  pic 
ture.  I  confess  it  honestly,  I  would  care 
much  less  for  the  picture  without  its  frame. 
Would  you  not  ?  Do  you  not  think  this 
pretty  dress  of  yours  is  more  becoming 
than  the  cotton  gown  of  your  kitchen-girl  ? 
Do  you  believe  that  beauty  unadorned  is 
adorned  the  most  ?  I  don't.  Do  you 
believe  in  love  in  a  cottage  ?  I  don't." 

"  I  do  not  know  what  I  believe ;  I  have 
never  thought  it  out,"  said  Lil,  who  was 
scrupulously  honest.  "What  I  know  is, 
that  I  pity  all  girls  who  cannot  go  to  balls 
like  this  one — who  cannot  stand  where  we 
are  standing,  and  enjoy  what  we  are  enjoy 
ing.  I  am  afraid  I  should  make  a  very 
mediocre  poor  girl.  I  do  not  like  work  ;  I 


22  STOEM-DKIVEN. 

do  not  like  the  cold.  I  should  always  like 
to  be  petted  and  made  much  of  by  those 
about  me." 

"  And  you  always  will  be.  It  is  im 
possible  to  come  near  you  without  submit 
ting  to  the  charm  you  exert — without 
wishing  to  make  you  happy.  Flowers  are 
made  for  sunshine,  and  sunshine  for  flowers. 
There  is  not  one  of  the  men  you  have 
danced  with  this  evening,  who  is  not,  or 
who  does  not  fancy  himself,  in  love  with 
you.'J  / 

"  Not  one  ?  "  said  Lil,  with  a  child-like 
coquetry  which  made  the  man  of  the  world 
smile  again.  Then  she  added  quickly, 
"But  if  I  had  come  in  a  plain  muslin 
dress,  made  by  myself — if  I  had  been 
the  daughter  of  a  poor  man,  a  little 
nobody,  would  it  have  been  the  same 
thing?" 


THE    BELLE   OP   THE   EVENING.  23 

"  No,  certainly  not ;  the  picture  would 
have  been  frameless." 

Lil  shivered  a  little.  She  glanced  at 
the  snow  outside;  the  moon  was  looking 
at  them  coldly,  through  a  network  of  bare 
black  branches ;  it  was  very  cheerless  out 
there,  and  Lil  hurried  on. 

"  I  am  very  glad  that  I  am  not  a  poor 
girl.  I  feel  sorry  for  those  who  have  not 
all  the  good  things  of  life,  but  I  would  not 
give  my  place  to  another.  All  that  is  not 
very  noble,  I  know.  I  am  not  heroic ;  per 
haps  not  even  of  average  goodness 

I  wonder  what  life  holds  in  store  for  me  ? 
How  strange  not  to  know !  how  dreadful 
that  there  should  be  a  great  black  curtain 
before  the  future — a  curtain  one  cannot 
lift !  " 

"  I  will  lift  it  for  you,  if  you  like.5) 

Lil  started ;  she  was  a  little  nervous  that 


24  STORM-DRIVEN. 

evening.  What  was  he  going  to  say  ?  his 
looks,  and  his  attitude  were  those  of  a  lover, 
even  though  his  words  had  not  yet  gone 
beyond  what  is  admissible  in  a  flirtation. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  I  had  an  old  negro  nurse,  something  of 
a  witch  I  think,  and  she  taught  me  to  tell 
fortunes.  Shall  I  tell  yours  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Lil. 

He  led  her  to  a  seat  half-hidden  among 
tall  shrubs,  just  by  the  fountain,  where  the 
Japanese  ducks,  fancying  it  was  daytime, 
pursued  each  other,  half  flying,  half  swim 
ming.  Mr.  Ward  was  going  to  unbutton 
Lil's  glove,  but  quickly  and  a  little 
nervously  she  bared  her  hand  herself. 
Such  a  pretty  dainty  hand !  No  wonder 
the  young  man,  pretending  to  study  the  soft 
pinky  palm,  kept  it  long  in  his.  He  wanted 
terribly  to  kiss  it,  but  this  he  did  not  do. 


THE    BELLE    OF   THE   EVENING.  25 

"Well?"  questioned  Lil. 

"  I  see  many  things  here." 

But  what  those  things  were,  Lil  was  not 
then  to  know.  Yet  surely  it  was  a  pity  to 
lose  the  result  of  such  deep  study.  He 
was  bending  over  the  hand,  occasionally 
looking  up  at  her  eyes,  that  sought  his ; 
eyes  in  which  hovered  some  faith  in  the 
mysterious  art  he  professed. 

They  were  interrupted,  and  considerably 
startled  by  a  laugh  sounding  close  to  them ; 
Mrs.  Cox  stood  looking  on,  with  evident 
amusement. 

"  It  is  really  too  bad  of  me,  is  it  not  ? 
but  there  are  signs  of  a  revolt  in  the  ball 
room.  Lil's  disappointed  partners  are  all 
clamouring  for  her.  You  see,  my  love,  if 
belle  ship  has  its  delights,  it  has  its  duties 
too.  Come  !  "  and  with  a  sort  of  imperious- 
ness  she  took  the  young  girl  by  the  hand 


26  STOBM- DRIVEN. 

and  forced  her  to  rise.  As  they  were 
entering  the  boudoir  she  whispered,  "Take 
care,  my  pet !  Leigh  Ward  is  not  a  marry 
ing  man."  Lil  walked  on  by  her  friend's 
side.  She  saw  no  one,  nor  did  she 
notice  that  many  glances  followed  her  as 
she  passed  on. 

Mrs.  Richards  and  her  friends  were 
whispering  together  more  eagerly  than 
ever ;  they  had  been  joined  by  Mr.  Richards, 
who  bore  traces  of  his  ill  luck  on  his  meek, 
cowed  face.  His  hair  was  not  frankly  grey, 
but  of  so  peculiar  a  colour  that  it  made  one 
think  that  life  to  him  had  been  a  perpetual 
Ash  "Wednesday.  At  that  moment,  how 
ever,  he  was  not  being  snubbed;  on  the 
contrary,  he  had  become  a  person  of 
ephemeral  but  real  importance ;  he  had 
brought  with  him  a  piece  of  news,  and  it 
was  that  piece  of  news  over  which  the 


THE   BELLE    OF  THE   EVENING.  27 

ladies  were  whispering,  casting  many 
glances  at  Lil  and  at  Leigh  "Ward,  who 
was  following  in  her  wake. 

It  is  such  a  pleasant  thing  to  be  queen 
of  a  ball,  when  one  is  nineteen,  fresh  and 
pretty !  Lil,  as  she  danced,  as  she  merrily 
answered  the  pretty  speeches  addressed  to 
her,  forgot  the  ill-omened  whisper  of  her 
hostess,  forgot  everything,  save  that  she 
was  happy  and  admired,  that  Mr.  Ward  fol 
lowed  her  with  his  eyes,  and  smiled  when 
she  looked  at  him. 

There  was  another  young  man  who  also 
followed  her  with  his  eyes.  John  Bruce 
had  not  yet  left  the  ball ;  he  had  caught 
the  whisper  which  now  ran  from  group  to 
group,  and  he  tried  once  to  approach  the 
young  girl :  but  she  was  so  surrounded 
that  it  was  difficult.  She  saw  him,  how 
ever,  and  nodded  with  a  pleasant  smile. 


28  STORM-DRIVEN. 

"  Give  me  just  five  minutes.  Miss  Tem 
ple/'  lie  said. 

"  I  cannot.  I  am  so  very  sorry  !  why  did 
you  not  ask  me  before  ?" 

He  hesitated  a  little,  then  he  added  in  a 
lower  voice,  "It  is  late — later  than  you 
think,  you  will  wear  yourself  out." 

She  looked  at  him  astonished.  John 
Bruce  presuming  to  give  her  advice  !  Then 
suddenly  seeing  something  strange  in  his 
face,  she  said  quickly,  "  Mother  is  worse!" 

"  Oh !  no,  no  !"  and  he  turned  away, 
angry  with  himself  for  his  want  of  tact. 
What  must  she  think  of  him  ? 

She  did  not  think  anything  at  all  about 
him,  for  at  that  moment  Leigh  Ward 
claimed  a  promised  waltz.  There  was 
something  intoxicating  in  the  music,  in  the 
smell  of  the  flowers,  in  the  heat,  in  the 
sight  of  other  whirling  couples  :  she  aban- 


THE    BELLE    OF  THE   EVENING.  29 

doned  herself  to  the  guidance  of  her  partner, 
with  half-closed  eyes,  feeling  that  she  could 
go  on  dancing  thus  for  ever,  supported  by 
his  encircling  arms. 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  what  I  saw  in  your 
hand?" 

"  Yes." 

"  I  saw  that  love  is  near  to  you,  that  the 
unconsciousness  of  your  girlhood  is  about 
to  be  dispelled,  as  the  summer  mists  are 
dispersed  by  the  sun.  Are  you  sorry  that 
it  should  be  so  ?  are  you  afraid  ?  " 

They  were  still  dancing,  but  more  slowly ; 
it  was  a  softly  cadenced  movement. 

"  Why  do  you  ask  ?  "  she  murmured, 
just  above  her  breath. 

"  Because  I  long  for  your  answer — be 
cause  it  seems  to  me  that  I  am  a  different 
man  since  I  looked  at  that  bewitching  criss 
cross  in  your  hand — say — are  you  afraid  ?  " 


30  STOBM-DRIVEN. 

Then  suddenly  she  remembered  Mrs, 
Cox's  warning;  she  woke  as  from  a  half- 
trance,  and  said,  "  If  you  care  really  to 
know,  I  will  tell  you  to-morrow." 

The  ball  was  drawing  to  a  close ;  wax 
candles  were  dying  among  the  flowers,  the 
older  women  looked  fagged  and  haggard, 
but  Lil,  as  she  took  leave  of  her  hostess, 
was  as  fresh  as  ever,  only  there  was  an  un 
usual  flush  in  her  cheeks  which  was  singu 
larly  becoming.  Less  than  ever  did  she 
notice  the  looks  of  those  about  her,  and 
the  whispering  which  went  on,  as  the 
women  threw  their  wrappings  over  their 
crushed  dresses. 


31 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    KEVERSE    OF    THE    MEDAL. 

"  COME  here,  daughter  !  "  said  Mrs.  Temple, 
in  her  feeble  invalid's  voice;  she  was  a 
Southerner,  and  had  retained  the  quaint 
Southern  speech.  She  had  been  a  beautiful 
woman,  but  now  her  thin,  white  face  was 
pitiful  to  see ;  the  doctors  said  that  it  was 
only  Martha's  constant  care  that  kept  her 
mother  alive. 

"  What  is  it,  mother  ?  "  and  Martha  bent 
over  the  sick  woman  tenderly,  her  plain,  in 
telligent,  sensible  face  softened  by  a  great 
pity. 


32  STOEM-DRIVEN. 

"  How  did  Lil  look  this  evening  ? 
pretty?" 

"  I  think  Miss  Lillian  was  not  dissatisfied 
with  her  personal  appearance ;  but  I  do 
not  know  which  she  most  approved  of,  her 
face  or  her  new  dress." 

"  She  might  have  come  to  show  herself," 
said  the  mother,  with  an  invalid's 
fretfulness. 

"You  were  sleeping,  dear,"  and  she 
kissed  her,  as  she  would  have  kissed  a  sick 
child.  "Do  you  feel  worse  ?"  she  added, 
as  Mrs.  Temple  moaned  wearily. 

"  I  don't  know — it  is  such  hard  work  to 
breathe ;  in  the  daytime  the  air  seems  less 
heavy — "  there  was  a  pause,  during  which 
Martha  went  lightly  here  and  there,  putting 
things  to  rights.  The  room  was  a  marvel 
of  comfort  and  elegance.  Mrs.  Temple 
liked  pretty  things,  and  her  husband  never 


THE  REVERSE  OP  THE  MEDAL.      33 

came  back  from  his  constant  journeyings 
without  bringing  some  beautiful  object  or 
other ;  that  was  his  way  of  showing  his 
affection,  it  was  an  easy  way,  and  it  satis 
fied  his  conscience.  He  was  accustomed 
rather  to  be  adored  than  to  adore  ;  his  wife 
looked  upon  him  as  the  handsomest,  the 
most  generous,  dashing,  and  chivalrous  of 
men,  and  Lil  shared  her  mother's  enthu 
siasm.  Presently  Mrs.  Temple  awoke  from 
a  half-sleep,  and  asked,  "  "What  o'clock  is 
it?" 

"  Just  midnight,  mother  dear, — time  to 
go  to  sleep." 

"  Is  there  still  no  news  from  your 
father?" 

"  No ;  since  the  two  despatches  last 
Wednesday,  there  has  been  nothing.  The 
telegraph  is  a  convenient  thing  certainly, 
but  I  think  old-fashioned  letter-writing 

VOL.    I.  D 


34  STORM-DRIVEN. 

must  have  been  more  satisfactory,  some 
how/' 

"He  has  no  time  to  write;"  then,  as 
Martha  did  not  answer,  she  went  on  in  a 
hurt  tone,  "  You  are  always  judging  him, 
Martha ;  in  those  old-fashioned  times  you 
speak  of,  children  were  more  respectful 
than  they  are  now,  they  understood  that 
there  were  certain  duties  which  they  owed 
their  parents." 

"  They  understand  it  still,  mother,  but 
they  understand  also  that  there  are  certain 
duties  which  parents  owe  their  children." 

"  Is  there  anywhere  a  father  more 
generous,  more  affectionate  ?  " 

"  He  is  both,  to  Lil.  Oh  !  I  do  not  com 
plain,  dearest,  papa  likes  everything  about 
him  to  be  pleasant  to  look  at,  and  pliable ; 
I  am  neither ;  I  cannot  help  reasoning  about 
things,  and  I  am  not  handsome.  I  do  not 


THE   REVERSE    OF   THE   MEDAL.  35 

think  it  right  for  a  man  to  treat  the  women 
of  his  family  like  children,  that  are  to  be 
petted  and  made  much  of  at  certain 
moments,  and  to  be  sent  to  the  nursery 
when  the  serious  business  of  life  is  to  be 
discussed.  We  know  nothing  of  papa's 
affairs — nothing  !  It  was  by  chance,  two 
years  ago,  that  I  discovered  that  we  had 
been  living  in  the  most  foolish  extrava 
gance,  at  a  moment  when  absolute  ruin 
was  imminent.  But  I  am  wrong  to  speak 
of  such  things,"  she  exclaimed,  full  of  re 
morse  as  her  mother  moved  uneasily  on 
her  pillow.  "  I  have  an  unfortunate  habit 
of  bursting  out  with  whatever  comes  upper 
most  in  my  mind."  She  stroked  and 
caressed  the  invalid  till  she  made  her  smile. 
"  You  are  a  good  girl,  Martha." 
"  Which,  in  this  world,  is  the  next  best 
thing  to  being  a  pretty  girl,  is  it  not, 
D  2 


36  STORM-DRIVEN. 

mother?  Own  that  you  are  mortified  at 
having  a  plain  daughter — you,  who  were 
the  beauty  of  Baltimore  ?" 

"My  dear  daughter !"  and  she  took  the 
girl's  face  between  her  hands  lovingly.  "  If 
it  were  not  for  the  nose/*  she  added,  very 
seriously,  "  you  would  not  be  ill-looking." 

Martha  laughed ;  her  looks  troubled  her 
but  little. 

Before  long,  Mrs.  Temple  fell  asleep,  and 
Martha  slipped  quietly  away,  after  giving 
many  and  full  directions  to  the  night-nurse. 

As  she  was  preparing  to  enter  her  own 
room,  Martha  met  a  sleepy  servant,  holding 
a  telegraphic  despatch ;  it  was  directed  to 
Miss  Temple.  She  wondered  a  little,  for 
usually  her  father  sent  the  telegrams  to 
his  wife ;  she  hesitated  an  instant,  delibe 
rating  whether  she  should  not  take  it  at 
once  to  her  mother,  on  the  chance  of  find- 


THE    REVERSE    OF   THE    MEDAL.  37 

ing  her  awake  again,  but  remembering  that 
her  sleep  had  seemed  tolerably  easy,  she 
determined  to  wait  till  morning. 

She  herself  did  not  open  the  envelope 
at  once ;  she  was  thinking  over  her  conver 
sation  with  her  mother,  questioning  herself, 
wondering  whether  she  had  not  been  wrong. 
As  she  mused,  she  warmed  first  one  foot 
then  the  other  before  the  bright  fire.  Hers 
was  a  comfortable  room,  without  the 
slightest  pretensions  to  being  fine ;  the 
two  sisters  used  it  as  their  private  sitting- 
room,  and  there  were  books,  papers,  and 
feminine  work  on  the  table,  a  piano  in  one 
corner,  and  a  few  fine  engravings  on  the 
walls.  Martha  was  fond  of  her  room;  like 
most  people  who  live  very  much  alone,  and 
with  themselves,  the  place  had  taken,  as  it 
were,  something  of  her  physiognomy,  of 
her  character. 


38  STORM-DRIVEN. 

Leisurely  Martha  opened  the  envelope, 
and  glanced  at  the  telegram ;  it  ran  thus  : — 

"  As  morning  papers  will  be  full  of  the 
sad  news,  have  decided,  after  consulting 
with  friends,  to  telegraph  at  once;  your 
father  entirely  ruined  by  gold  panic,  com 
mitted  suicide  at  noon ;  death  so  instanta 
neous  that  he  could  not  have  suffered." 

It  was  signed  by  a  New  Yorker,  whom 
she  only  knew  by  name. 

Martha  neither  screamed  nor  lost  con 
sciousness  ;  even  at  that  moment,  her  first 
thought  was  for  her  mother;  she  must 
hear  no  sound  that  might  rouse  her  sus 
picion,  so  the  brave  girl  clutched  at  the 
mantelpiece  for  support,  and  by  a  strong 
effort  kept  off  the  dizzy  faintness  which 
had  seized  her.  It  was  some  minutes 
before  she  found  strength  enough  to  walk 
to  a  chair.  Once  seated  she  remained 


THE  REVERSE  OF  THE  MEDAL.     39 

rigidly  upright,  feeling  that  if  the  tension 
of  her  muscles  were  to  give  way,  she  would 
inevitably  lose  all  self-control;  that  she 
would  then  cry  out,  and  sob,  and  call  for 
help.  As  it  was,  a  certain  numbness  came 
over  her,  at  which  she  wondered,  asking 
herself  whether  she  were  not  heartless. 
She  could  not  make  it  out ;  her  intelligence 
seemed  as  benumbed  as  her  feelings. 

He  was  dead,  he  had  killed  himself,  and 
they  were  penniless  !  This  she  repeated  to 
herself  over  and  over  again,  as  though  it 
were  a  lesson  she  had  to  learn.  By  degrees, 
the  sense  of  the  words  did  penetrate  the 
brain.  She  saw  it  all  with  horrible  vivid 
ness.  The  wild  excitement,  the  maniac 
cries  and  gestures  of  the  gold  speculators, 
among  whom  he  was ;  then  the  despair — 
everything  swept  away,  no  hope  left !  She 
knew  her  father  well  enough  to  follow  his 


40  STORM-DRIVEN. 

agony  culminating  in  madness,  for  he  must 
have  been  mad  to  commit  such  a  deed !  so 
to  forget  those  whom  he  left  behind  him — 
ruined,  helpless,  and  with  a  name  tainted 
by  his  act !  She  tried  hard  not  to  judge 
him,  it  was  horrible  to  feel  anything,  at 
such  a  moment,  but  intense  pity;  yet, 
unless  she  admitted  his  insanity,  she  could 
not  help  judging  him,  and  judging  him 
severely.  She  then  thought  of  her  mother  : 
she  shuddered,  wondering  how  she  should 
ever  tell  her  the  truth.  In  such  a  moment 
as  this,  it  would  have  been  a  great  comfort 
to  lean  on  some  one,  strong  and  loving; 
to  weep  and  moan,  and  ask  for  sympathy. 
But  Martha,  as  she  sat  there,  during  those 
silent  hours,  with  no  noise  about  her  save 
the  ticking  of  the  clock  and  the  crackling 
of  the  logs,  knew  that  weakness  was  a 
luxury  forbidden  to  her.  She  would  have 


THE   EEVEESE    OF   TBE    MEDAL.  41 

to  be  the  support  of  her  mother  and  sister, 
she  would  have  to  be  brave  for  all  three ; 
she  did  not  shrink  from  the  task,  she 
accepted  it ;  but  there  came  back  to  her  at 
that  moment,  the  memory  of  girl-dreams, 
which  had  come  to  her,  as  they  come  to 
all ;  yearnings,  half-understood,  and  which 
she  had,  as  best  she  could,  thrust  from  her, 
as  though  instinct  had  warned  her  that 
they  were  not  destined  to  be  realized.  Now, 
at  five-and-twenty,  when  her  life  stretched 
before  her  plainly — a  life  which  must  be 
filled  with  stern  duties,  with  work  for  the 
daily  bread  of  those  she  loved — those 
yearnings  came  back  with  tyrannical  per 
severance. 

Suddenly  Martha  started;  a  carriage 
had  stopped  at  the  door.  Lil  was  coming 
home ;  she  had  not  thought  of  this  coming 
home,  and  was  not  prepared  for  it ;  yet  she 


42  SrOEM-DRIVEN. 

knew  that  Lil  would  cross  her  room  to  go 
to  her  own,  which  was  just  beyond.  By 
an  instinctive  movement  she  passed  her 
hand  over  her  face,  as  though  she  could 
thus  wipe  away  its  ghastly  pallor,  and  the 
intensely  fixed  look  of  the  eyes. 

It  was  this  movement — the  first  she  had 
made,  since  she  sat  there  rigidly — which 
caused  her  to  notice  the  telegram,  crumpled 
in  her  hand ;  she  thrust  it  hastily  into  her 
pocket,  then  lowered  the  gas-lamp,  so  as 
to  make  a  semi-obscurity  in  the  room. 

"  She  must  not  know  till  to-morrow,  she 
must  sleep,  poor  child  1"  she  said  this  half  - 
aloud,  and  then  started  to  hear  how  hollow 
her  voice  sounded.  She  sat  down  again, 
feeling  very  faint  and  weary, 

"  Why,  Martha  !  you  still  up ! "  exclaimed 
Lil,  as  she  rustled  in,  all  her  pretty  finery 
making  a  glimmer  of  white  all  about  her. 


THE  REVERSE  OP  THE  MEDAL.     43 

Martha  looked  at  her,  shuddering ;  it  was 
not  only  Lil  that  stood  before  her,  it  was 
also  the  incarnation  of  human  happiness. 

What  was  there  in  common  between  this 
bright  young  creature  and  disgrace,  death, 
and  ruin  ? 

"Is  mother  worse?"  continued  Lil, 
stopping  short  in  sudden  alarm,  as  Martha 
did  not  speak. 

"Mother  was  suffering  a  good  deal  during 
the  evening,  but  she  fell  asleep  an  hour 
after  you  left.  I  was  wakeful,  and  so 
remained  up  for  you."  She  said  this 
quietly,  but  her  voice  was  so  changed,  that 
she  wondered  the  young  girl  did  not  notice 
it. 

Lil  took  a  stool,  she  was  always  fond  of 
low  seats,  and  leaning  against  her  sister, 
meditatively  stirred  the  fire,  till  a  bright 
flame  shot  upward.  Martha  quickly  shaded 


44  STORM-DRIVEN. 

her  face.  But  Lil  saw  nothing;  suspected 
nothing;  she  was  thinking  of  her  own 
affairs. 

"  Lil,  go  to  bed,  dear,  you  must  be  tired; 
it  is  late." 

"I  tired?"  and  Lil  laughed,  what  had 
fatigue  or  weariness  to  say  to  her  ?  and, 
indeed,  there  was  no  sign  of  either  in  her 
young  face ;  Martha  thought  with  a  pang 
that  she  had  never  seen  her  sister  as  lovely 
as  at  that  moment. 

"I  do  not  think  one  ever  feels  fatigue 
when  one  is  very  happy,"  continued  Lil, 
looking  fixedly  at  the  blaze  she  had  made. 

"  Happy  !"  exclaimed  Martha,  the  word 
jarred  her  unstrung  nerves.  "  You  use 
the  expression  very  lightly,  Lil.  What !  a 
fine  new  dress,  dancing,  compliments,  and 
such  like  things  can  make  you  happy !" 

"Don't  be  hard  on  me,  Martha."     Lil 


THE  REVERSE  OF  THE  MEDAL.     45 

was  not  at  all  discomposed  by  her  sister's 
attack ;  all  she  wanted  was  an  occasion  to 
talk  and  so  to  find  a  vent  for  all  the  new 
strange  feelings  that  swayed  her. 

"  Don't  be  hard  on  me,  dear ;  perhaps  I 
am  frivolous,  perhaps  I  do  enjoy  more  than 
I  should,  all  the  good  things  the  fates  have 
bestowed  on  me ;  I  do  not  deny  that  I  am 
too  fond  of  being  admired.  But  I  know  as 
well  as  you,  the  real  value  of  these  things, 
and  if  I  am  happy  to-night,  it  is  not  because 
of  these." 

Lil  stopped  suddenly,  and  blushed ;  she 
wanted  sadly  to  confess  her  secret,  but 
words  seemed  so  common  and  prosaic ;  all 
the  joy,  and  pride,  and  tender  softness  that 
filled  her  heart,  to  be  translated  brutally 
with  "  I  am  in  love  !"  Oh,  no  !  it  was  not 
possible.  She  rose  from  her  low  seat,  and 
walked  up  and  down  the  room.  She  turned 


46  STORM-DRIVEN. 

up  the  gas,  as  though  the  half-light  accorded 
ill  with  her  feelings.  Presently  she  stopped 
by  the  table,  and  turned  over,  in  an  absent 
mood,  the  books  and  papers  with  which  it 
was  strewn ;  then  she  said  abruptly,  "  You 
were  never  in  love,  were  you  ?" 

"  Are  you  in  love  ?"  said  Martha  with 
sudden  sharpness,  facing  her  sister  with  an 
expression  of  such  terror  and  pity  that  Lil 
started ;  she  felt  that  she  was  being  ill-used, 
that  her  confidences,  which  she  would  have 
made  to  no  one  else,  were  not  received  with 
enthusiasm,  or  even  with  common  indul 
gence. 

"  How  long  is  it  since  you  have  known 
Mr.  Ward  ?  not  a  month,  I  think  !  I  have 
no  faith  in  him,"  said  Martha,  in  the  same 
hard  voice. 

"  You  are  unjust !"  exclaimed  Lil  hotly. 

"  Do  you  think,  if  you  had  been  a  poor 


THE   BEVERSE    OF   THE   MEDAL.  47 

girl,  whom  the  others  did  not  notice,  that 
he  would  have  made  love  to  you  ?" 

Lil  did  not  answer,  she  remembered 
having,  a  few  hours  before  said  almost  the 
same  thing  herself;  she  began  to  be  uneasy, 
and  the  buoyancy  of  her  feelings  subsided ; 
Mrs.  Cox's  warning  also  came  back  to  her. 
She  did  not  answer,  but  continued  playing 
with  the  books  on  the  table,  then  she  took 
up  a  torn  envelope,  and  absently  looked 
at  it,  turning  it  round  and  round. 

Martha,  who  was  watching  her,  suddenly 
felt  as  though  all  things  in  the  room  were 
whirling  in  a  mad  dance.  She  must  speak, 
she  must  take  Lil's  attention  away  from 
that  bit  of  paper  at  all  hazards ;  it  was  the 
envelope  of  the  fatal  telegram.  In  a  few 
moments  she  was  able  to  say  in  the  same 
constrained  voice, — 

"  Did  he  ask  you  to  be  his  wife  ?" 


48  STORM-DRIVEN". 

"  0  Martha !"  exclaimed  Lil  with  a  little 
gasp,  dropping  the  envelope. 

"  Did  he  tell  you  he  loved  you  ?" 

"  Not  exactly ;  but  he  made  me  under 
stand — "  She  did  not  finish  the  sentence, 
but  nervously  took  up  the  paper  once  more. 

"  Then  it  is,  as  yet,  a  flirtation  and 
nothing  more ;  you  know,  Lil,  as  well  as  I, 
that  a  flirtation  means  a  great  deal,  or  just 
nothing  at  all,  according  to  the  good  will  of 
the  parties.  A  girl  may  lose  her  heart,  and 
the  next  day  her  gay  partner  may  turn  on 
his  heel :  it  was  nothing  but  a  flirtation  !  A 
girl  may  wreck  an  honest  man's  happiness  : 
she  was  merely  amusing  herself!" 

"You  are  not  yourself  to-night,  Martha, 
something  must  have  happened ;  have  you 
had  bad  news  ?  By  the  way,  who  on  earth 
can  have  been  sending  you  a  despatch?" 
and  she  held  up  the  envelope. 


THE  BEVERSE  OE  THE  MEDAL.      49 

Martha  tried  to  speak  but  she  could  not, 
her  power  of  self-control  suddenly  deserted 
her;  she  could  but  look  at  her  sister,  with 
wild  eyes  and  a  ghastly  face. 

"Martha,"  screamed  Lil,  and  she  rushed 
to  her  sister's  side ;  "  Martha,  what  is  it  ?" 

"My  poor  child!"  murmured  Martha, 
with  infinite  pity  in  her  dry  eyes. 

"  Tell  me,  tell  me  quickly !"  Lil 
whispered  this  like  a  frightened  child  that 
she  was. 

"  Not  now ;  to-morrow." 

"  To-morrow  !  you  think  I  can  wait  till 
to-morrow  ?  Tell  me  !  you  will  see  that  I 
can  be  brave  too.  I  must  know — I  will 
know !  I  am  not  a  child  to  be  put  off. 
For  God's  sake,  speak!  is — is  mother  dead?" 

"No." 

"Then  there  is  bad  news  from  father; 
he  has  lost  a  great  deal,  we  shall  be  poor, 

VOL.    I.  E 


50  STORM-DRIVEN. 

perhaps  ruined, — you  see,  I  can  talk  of  it 
quite  sensibly," — she  waited  an  instant,  and 
then,  as  Martha  only  moaned  miserably, 
she  said  with  sudden  violence,  "  You  shall 
tell  me  !  do  you  not  see  that  this  is  worse 
than  anything?" 

Martha  looked  at  her,  and  saw  that  the 
moment  had  really  come.  She  tried  to 
find  some  words  to  prepare  the  young  girl, 
but  she  found  none ;  the  tension  all  through 
those  dreadful  hours  had  been  too  great; 
so  she  merely  took  the  paper  from  her 
pocket,  and  handed  it  to  her  sister.  Lil 
read  it,  and  with  a  wild  cry  fell  senseless 
at  her  sister's  feet. 


51 


CHAPTER  III. 

OEPHANS. 

MRS.  TEMPLE  had  had  a  very  restless  night, 
and  woke  from  an  uneasy  slumber,  feverish 
and  ill  at  ease.  Martha  always  came  in  at 
about  seven  o'clock,  but  this  morning  she 
was  late. 

"Where  is  Miss  Martha?"  asked  the 
invalid  plaintively. 

The  nurse  answered  that  Miss  Martha 
had  been  up  all  night  with  her  sister,  who 
was  not  quite  well,  and  was  now  trying  to 
get  a  little  rest.  Lil  not  well  ?  The  nurse 
found  some  difficulty  in  answering  all  the 
E  2 


52  STORM-DEIVEN. 

questions  that  followed;  but  she  had  her 
instructions  from  Martha  herself,  and 
carried  them  out  well. 

When  Mrs.  Temple's  morning  toilet  was 
completed  she  felt  better,  and  asked  if  there 
were  no  letters;  being  answered  in  the 
negative,  she  expressed  the  wish  to  see  the 
papers.  Miss  Martha  would  bring  them 
in  presently ;  as  she  always  read  the  news 
to  her  mother,  the  papers  had  been  taken 
up  to  her  room. 

Mrs.  Temple  insisted,  and  being  met 
with  various  ingenious  excuses,  grew 
suspicious.  With  the  cunning  which  comes 
instinctively  to  the  weak,  she  took  advantage 
of  the  absence  of  the  nurse  to  call  the  maid 
who  was  dusting  the  room,  and  to  send  her 
for  a  paper.  The  girl  had  been  recently 
engaged  and  did  not  dare  to  disobey. 

A   few  minutes   later   Martha   entered, 


OEPHANS.  53 

having  done  her  best  to  remove  the  traces 
of  the  dreadful  mental  agony  she  had 
undergone,  from  her  pale  face ;  she  even 
tried  to  smile.  Suddenly  she  sprang 
forward — her  mother  held  a  crumpled 
newspaper,  and  looked  towards  her  with  a 
dazed,  frightened  look. 

"  It's — it's  another  Temple,  it's  not  your 
father."  She  could  say  no  more,  a  fit  of 
coughing  seized  her,  and  the  handkerchief 
she  held  to  her  mouth  was  soon  dyed  a  deep 
red. 

She  died  towards  evening,  apparently 
without  suffering  much,  and  certainly  with 
out  a  clear  preception  of  what  had  happened. 
Martha  was  singularly  calm;  she  had  no 
time  for  weeping.  Lil  was  too  ill  to  leave 
her  bed,  delirious  at  times,  so  that  every 
thing  fell  on  her,  the  strong  one.  The 
doctor,  when  all  was  over,  tried  to  console 


54  STORM-DEIVEN. 

her,  using  the  hackneyed  words  which  he 
had  used  a  thousand  times  before,  on 
similar  occasions; — he  was  a  good  man, 
and  meant  well.  But  all  she  answered  was 
this,  "  It  is  best  so ;  she  would  have  missed 
her  luxuries." 

Then  came  all  the  horrible  details  of  the 
funeral;  it  was  she  who  had  to  give  all 
necessary  orders,  she  who  had  to  see  that 
everything  was  properly  done ;  she  did  not 
shrink  from  the  task,  but  sometimes  at 
night,  when  there  was  nothing  positively  to 
do,  it  seemed  to  her  that  her  strength  must 
give  way. 

Lil  soon  grew  better;  her  youth  and 
elastic  constitution  threw  off  the  fever  that 
had  seized  upon  her.  Then  she  had  to  be 
told  of  the  new  misery  that  had  come  to 
them ;  she  cried  bitterly  at  first,  but  seeing 
Martha's  haggard  looks,  her  dry  feverish 


ORPHANS.  55 

eyes,  she  suddenly  stopped  in  the  midst  of 
her  sobs,  and  went  over  to  her  sister,  say 
ing,  "  Let  me  help  you,  dear  ! "  she  laid  her 
wet  cheek  against  Martha's  caressingly, 
and  then  for  the  first  time  the  elder  girl 
broke  down. 

There  were  crowds  at  poor  Mrs.  Temple's 
funeral;  the  Lakeville  heart  was  moved, 
the  sad  story  was  so  complete,  that  it  could 
not  well  have  been  otherwise.  What  would 
those  two  poor  girls  do  now  ?  Even  in  the 
hushed  and  darkened  room  downstairs, 
where,  on  the  day  of  the  funeral,  the  more 
intimate  friends  gathered,  their  future 
prospects  were  discussed  in  decent  whispers. 
In  the  church  there  was  scarcely  standing 
room,  for  many  who  had  never  seen  Mr.  or 
Mrs.  Temple,  crowded  to  take  their  part  in 
the  last  act  of  the  tragedy. 

It  is  not  true  that  at  the  first  signal  of 


56  STOEM-DEIVEX. 

distress  the  world  abandons  the  unfor 
tunate  ones ;  the  world  does  things  with 
propriety  and  decency;  it  has  its  rules 
and  forms,  and  knows  how  to  observe 
them.  After  a  certain  time  has  elapsed — 
why  then  .  .  .  that  is  another  thing. 

Thus,  during  those  early  days  of  mourn 
ing,  the  tall  house  on  the  Avenue,  with 
its  closed  shutters  and  deserted  look,  was 
literally  besieged :  friends  who  insisted 
on  seeing  the  young  ladies — but  who 
were  not  admitted,  for  Martha  refused 
obstinately  to  see  any  one ;  friends  who 
came  to  inquire ;  friends  who  wrote  pretty 
little  notes  with  many  exclamation  marks, 
on  fashionably-tinted  paper,  of  a  fashion 
ably  ugly  shape;  friends  who  merely 
left  cards  turned  down,  to  show  they 
had  called  in  person  ....  The  procession 
lasted  all  day,  so  that  the  servants  took 


ORPHANS.  57 

turns  to  open  the  door,  and  then  talked 
over  the  cards  and  notes  in  the  kitchen, 
before  taking  them  upstairs.  Among  the 
cards  was  one  bearing  the  name  of  Leigh 
Ward ;  it  disappeared  somehow  from  the 
basket  into  which  it  had  been  thrown  with 
the  others. 

But  there  were  some  visitors  that  Martha 
could  not  refuse  to  receive, — visitors  who 
would  take  no  denial,  who  sat  obstinately 
in  the  hall,  till  she  would  admit  them.  .  .  . 
These  were  tradesmen  with  their  unpaid 
bills.  That  her  father  had  always  given 
orders  recklessly  here  and  there,  she 
knew,  but  that  he  should  have  left  so 
many  debts  behind  him,  seemed  scarcely 
credible.  Once,  several  of  these  men  came 
together,  one  of  them  was  a  jeweller 
whose  account  was  a  terribly  long  one; 
among  the  objects  not  paid  for,  was  a 


58  STORM-DRIVEN. 

pretty  locket  with  Lil's  initials  in  diamonds 
and  turquoises ;  he  had  given  her  this 
costly  trifle  on  her  nineteenth  birthday. 
Martha  felt  very  bitterly  at  that  moment, 
and  it  was  not  till  she  had  bent  some  time 
over  the  account  that  she  raised  her  head, 
and  faced  the  men  who  were  all  watching 
her  in  silence.  Then  she  said, — 

"  You  shall  be  paid  ;  we  will  sell  every 
thing,  even  to  our  clothes,  but  for  God's 
sake  leave  us  a  few  days  in  peace  !" 

There  was  something  in  her  voice  which 
forced  respect.  The  creditors  bowed  and 
passed  out  in  silence. 

The  house  was  unutterably  dreary 
during  this  time ;  the  showy  furniture  of 
the  reception-rooms, — Mr.  Temple  had 
always  liked  what  was  showy — appeared 
like  a  doleful  mockery  in  the  half-light 
admitted  through  the  closed  blinds;  the 


ORPHANS.  59 

pictures  on  the  walls,  the  bright  colours 
of  the  carpets  were  in  contradiction  with 
the  hushed  silence  of  the  place.  Lil 
sometimes  left  her  room  to  wander  among 
these  lower  apartments,  which  already 
began  to  have  the  shut-up  odour,  and  the 
sense  of  desolateness,  peculiar  to  deserted 
houses.  What  she  sought  among  the 
fine  yellow  chairs  and  sofas,  by  the  shut- 
up  piano,  was  the  memory  of  her  happy  and 
careless  girlhood;  here,  she  sat  one 
evening  listening  to  Leigh  "Ward  as  he 
sang  and  played  to  her;  in  that  window 
recess  they  were  having  a  warm  discussion 
when  the  door  opened,  and  a  visitor  was 
announced ;  she  smiled  even  in  the  midst 
of  her  sadness,  as  she  remembered  his 
look  of  comical  despair.  It  was  all  such 
trifles  so  precious  to  her,  which  she  sought, 
as  she  moved  softly  from  place  to  place. 


60  STORM-DRIVEN. 

But  during  the  long  sad  days,  she  tried 
her  best  to  help  Martha ;  there  was  much 
to  do,  fortunately  so,  for  constant  occu 
pation  is  on  such  occasions  the  greatest 
possible  boon.  There  were  many  letters 
to  answer,  business  letters  telling  mostly 
of  heavy  debts ;  and  there  were  others 
also,  one  from  an  aunt  in  Boston  whom 
the  girls  scarcely  knew,  who  offered  shelter 
and  protection  to  her  brother's  children ; 
but  the  letter  was  so  measured  in  its 
expressions  of  sympathy,  so  patronizing, 
so  full  of  sentences  that  might  have 
figured  in  her  favourite  clergyman's  best 
sermon,  that  when  they  had  read  it,  the 
sisters  looked  at  each  other  without  speak 
ing  ;  at  last  Martha  said, — 

"Shall  we  accept  it,  or  stay  here  and  work 
for  our  living  ?  I  vote  for  the  work — even 
should  it  be  that  of  cook  or  housemaid." 


ORPHANS.  61 

"  I  vote  for  it,  too,"  said  Lil,  but  a 
little  faintly ;  for  if  she  shrank  from  the 
idea  of  dependence,  she  shrank  also  from 
the  thought  of  hard  work,  especially  of 
work  that  was  not  ladylike. 

Then   there  were  accounts  to  be  made 

out,   servants  to  be  dismissed  and  paid ; 

one  only  remained  until  the  sale    should 

be  over — for  there  was  to  be  a  sale ;    it 

was   already    announced    in    the    papers. 

But    Lil,   notwithstanding    her    excellent 

resolutions,  was  not  of  much  use  to  her 

sister ;  she  was  not  clever  at  casting  up 

long  rows  of  figures,  nor  did  she  find  the 

occupation  an  interesting  one  ;  she  would 

often  stop  and  stare  at  the  additions  and 

subtractions   through  a  blinding    mist   of 

tears.     Once  when   she  was  so  occupied, 

and  that  Martha   happened  not  to  be  in 

the    room,    she    heard   the   clatter    of    a 


62  STORM-DBIVEN. 

horse's  hoofs;    she   went    quickly   to  the 
window  and  peeped  out.   ^ 

By  the  merest  chance,  as  the  maid 
opened  the  door  to  receive  a  card  which 
Mr.  Ward  was  about  to  leave,  Lil  came 
slowly  downstairs,  and  the  young  man 
seeing  her,  bowed  seriously.  The  servant, 
who  knew  him  to  have  been  a  frequent 
visitor,  discreetly  withdrew. 

"Miss  Temple,  how  can  I  express  to 
you  the  sympathy — " 

"Is  it  not  dreadful?"  said  poor  Lil, 
the  tears  welling  up  ,  she  so  wanted  to  be 
pitied,  and  especially  to  be  pitied  by  him ; 
"  to  think  that  while  I  was  dancing  the 
other  evening,  poor  papa — "  she  could  not 
go  on. 

He  stood  there,  hat  in  hand,  a  little 
embarrassed  perhaps,  but  everything  in 
his  attitude  expressing  respectful  con- 


ORPHANS.  63 

dolence ;  the  very  shade  of  his  gloves, 
and  the  severity  of  his  clothes  were  in 
accordance  with  the  proper  degree  of 
sympathy  which  he  meant  to  express. 
But  between  that  degree  of  sympathy  and 
gushing  demonstrativeness  there  was  a 
wide  step,  and  that  step  he  was  in  no 
mood  to  take.  Lil  did  not,  or  would  not 
see  this ;  her  hand  was  on  the  handle 
of  the  drawing-room  door,  as  she  con 
tinued,  looking  up  at  him  through  her 
tears, — 

"  You  cannot  imagine  how  dreadful  this 
great,  silent  house  is  now !  I  go  about 
softly,  and  am  afraid  to  speak  above  my 
breath,  and  all  night  I  lie  awake  trembling, 
quite  unable  to  sleep,  I  am  so  afraid." 

"  I  can  readily  imagine  that — that  such 
a  complication  of  disasters — " 

Again  he  did  not  finish  his   sentence. 


64  STORM-DRIVEN. 

There  came  a  curious  look  in  Lil's  eyes, 
and  quietly  she  took  her  hand  from  the 
door-handle.  During  this  time  he  had 
been  saying  to  himself,  in  a  moralizing 
mood,  that  beauty  was  after  all  but  a 
fortunate  combination  of  circumstances ; 
that  an  unbecoming  mass  of  dead  black, 
a  pale  face,  and  red  swollen  eyes  could 
make  of  the  prettiest  girl  possible,  a  very 
insignificant-looking  person. 

"  You  are  very  kind,  Mr.  Ward,  my 
sister  and  myself  are  most  grateful  to  all 
our  friends — and  acquaintances,  for  their 
remembrance  of  us  at  this  time.  I  am 
glad  of  this  chance  opportunity  of  saying 
so,"  then,  with  a  slight  bend  of  the  head, 
she  gave  him  to  understand  that  the 
"  chance  "  interview  was  at  an  end.  Mrs. 
Cox  herself,  need  not  have  disclaimed 
that  bend  of  the  head.  He  held  out  his 


ORPHANS .  65 

hand  with  something  more  of  feeling  than 
he  had  yet  shown. 

"  You  believe  me  when  I  say  that  I  am 
very,  very  sorry  for  you  ?" 

"  Oh  certainly  ! — why  not  ?" 

Then  when  he  had  gone,  she  slipped 
into  the  deserted  drawing-room,  and  hiding 
herself  behind  the  yellow  satin  curtains, 
sobbed  as  though  her  heart  would  break. 

"What  is  it,  dear?"  asked  Martha,  as 
her  sister,  in  the  dim  twilight,  crept  up  to 
her  side,  and  wearily  laid  her  head  against 
her. 

"  I  think  I  am  not  quite  well." 

In  the  night,  the  fever  that  had  already 
attacked  her  made  its  appearance  once 
more;  not  with  great  violence  it  is  true, 
but  sufficiently  so  to  condemn  the  young 
girl  to  her  bed. 

VOL.   I.  P 


66 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    TEMPLE   DISASTER. 

No,  certainly;  Lakeville  society  had  not  for 
many  a  long  day  had  so  interesting  a  sub 
ject  of  conversation  as  the  "  Temple  disas 
ter,"  as  it  was  called.  There  was  a  flavour 
of  the  horrible  in  it,  furnished  by  the  suicide; 
a  touch  of  real  pathos,  given  by  the  death  of 
poor  Mrs.  Temple,  who  was  known  to  have 
always  adored  her  husband.  Then  the 
probable  fate  of  the  two  orphan  girls  gave 
rise  to  numberless  discussions,  which  were 
of  a  truly  interesting  character.  There 
were  many  really  kind-hearted  people 


THE   TEMPLE   DISASTER.  67 

among  the  gossips,  as  there  are  every 
where  ;  and  more  than  one  exclamation  of 
"  Poor  things  !  "  was  uttered  with  great 
sincerity.  Only  these  good-hearted  people 
had  a  thousand  duties,  cares,  or  pleasures 
which,  after  a  short  time,  caused  them 
to  forget  the  "  poor  things,' '  and  the  pity 
they  felt  was  thus  of  no  very  fruitful 
kind. 

Nowhere  were  the  affairs  of  the  Temple 
girls  more  thoroughly  or  more  warmly  dis 
cussed  than  in  Mrs.  Richards'  circle. 
This  energetic  lady  was  at  the  head  of 
sewing  circles,  of  Church  assemblies,  of 
women's  meetings,  &c. ;  she  looked  upon 
her  mission  in  life  as  a  talking  mission, 
and  it  must  be  owned  that  she  fulfilled  it 
unflinchingly. 

One  Wednesday  afternoon — Wednesday 
afternoons  were  devoted  to  the  fabrication 


68  STOKM-DRIVEN. 

of  flannel  petticoats  and  coarse  shirts, 
mostly  of  an  inconvenient  cut — Mrs. 
Richards  sat  in  the  midst  of  a  bevy  of 
ladies  of  varying  ages,  giving  out  work 
and  superintending  inexperienced  sewers. 
Naturally,  as  the  needles  were  plied,  the 
tongues  kept  time,  and  naturally,  also, 
the  late  sad  events  formed  the  principal 
topic  of  conversation. 

"  Mrs.  Cox  is  very  fond  of  Lil  Temple ; 
she  cried  when  she  heard  the  news,"  said  a 
stout,  comfortable  matron. 

"  Mrs.  Cox's  tears,"  retorted  Mrs. 
Richards,  "  are  always  near  her  eyes. 
One  of  her  accomplishments  is  to  cry  with 
out  sniffling,  or  making  her  eyes  and  nose 
red  ;  crying,  under  those  circumstances, 
becomes  a  graceful  feminine  art.  Besides, 
we  all  know  how  very  acute  Mrs.  Cox's 
feelings  are ;  the  fear  of  making  herself  ill 


THE    TEMPLE    DISASTER.  69 

from  over-sensitiveness  has  prevented  her 
from  going  to  see  her  pet." 

"But  she  wrote  to  offer  money  to  the 
girls." 

"Very  delicate  and  considerate  on  her 
part.  Charity  is  easy  enough  when  one 
has  more  money  than  one  can  possibly 
spend ;  if  she  had  thought  the  matter  over 
a  little,  she  would  have  understood  that 
what  the  Temple  girls  need,  is  not  charity, 
but  help  to  set  them  to  work." 

"  It  seems  they  will  have  nothing,"  said 
another  lady,  rolling  out  the  word  "  no 
thing"  with  a  sort  of  lugubrious  pleasure. 
"  Absolutely  nothing  !  "  re-echoed  a 
number  of  voices,  and  then  came  quite  a 
solemn  little  silence ;  a  silence  broken  sud 
denly  by  Issy,  otherwise  Isabella  Richards, 
a  girl  of  sixteen,  who  sat  outside  the 
circle,  at  work,  in  the  window  corner. 


70  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

"  Is  it  not  comfortable  to  talk  over  other 
people's  troubles ! " 

Issy  liugged  herself  tight,  as  she  said 
this,  and  looked  around  with  an  expression 
of  childlike  innocence  on  her  whimsical 
face. 

"  Issy  ! "  exclaimed  her  mother  severely. 
Mrs.  Richards  looked  upon  sharp  speeches 
as  her  especial  province,  and  resented  any 
encroachment  on  her  domain.  Issy  re 
sumed  her  sewing  demurely ;  but  every 
now  and  then  her  quick  black  eyes  glanced 
from  one  to  the  other  of  the  workers, 
showing  that  she  judged  them  all  with  the 
relentless  severity  of  youth. 

"What  the  girls  would  do,  could  do, 
ought  to  do,  furnished  endless  variations 
to  the  favourite  theme. 

"We  shall  now  see  which  of  the  two 
sisters  is  really  up  to  the  circumstances," 


THE   TEMPLE    DISASTER.  71 

said  Mrs.  Richards,  feeling  sure  that  poor 
Lil  would  be  found  sadly  wanting. 

"  I  guess/'  said  a  young  lady  of  un 
certain  age,  who  rejoiced  in  a  strong 
Yankee  accent,  "  I  guess  Lil  Temple  won't 
see  much  of  her  fine  lover  now." 

"  And  Lil  Temple  once  out  of  the  field," 
observed  the  irrepressible  Issy  from  her 
corner,  "  there  may  be  some  chance  for 
other  and  older  competitors." 

"  Issy  !    go  and  finish  your  seam  in  your 


own  room.'3 


"  Certainly,  ma'am ;  with  great  pleasure," 
answered  Issy  cheerfully,  and  smiling 
blandly  on  the  company,  the  young  lady 
took  her  departure. 

"When  her  daughter  had  left,  Mrs. 
Richards  put  down  her  work  and  said, 
"  It  is  all  very  well  to  talk  about  this  sad 
affair ;  but  the  principal  thing  is  to  know 


STOEM-DBIVEN. 


what  we  can  do  to  help  those  girls."  By 
which  it  will  be  seen  that  Mrs.  Richards, 
if  she  possessed  a  tongue,  possessed  also  a 
heart.  The  only  answer  to  this  remark 
was  rather  a  blank  silence. 

The  lady's  sharp  eyes  danced  ;  she  knew 
human  nature,  and  had  expected  this 
silence;  it  rather  pleased  her  to  see  how 
well  founded  were  her  expectations.  She 
went  on,  however,  quite  undaunted,  — 

"  As  for  me,  I  am  poor,  as  you  all 
know;  but  I  will  do  what  I  can.  There 
is  to  be  a  sale  at  their  house  in  a  few  days, 
and  they  will  then  find  themselves  home 
less.  I  mean  to  take  them  in,  till  they 
have  found  some  means  of  earning  their 
bread." 

There  was  a  little  murmur  of  appro 
bation  among  the  sewers,  which  was  not 
unpleasant  to  the  ears  of  Mrs.  Richards  ; 


THE    TEMPLE   DISASTER.  73 

but  after  this,  the  awkward  silence  once 
more  fell  on  the  assembly. 

"  Well/5  said  the  stout  matron  who  had 
begun  the  discussion,  and  who  felt  that  it 
was  incumbent  on  some  one  to  say  some 
thing.  "  Well,  the  Temple  girls  are  well 
educated;  it  seems  they  talk  French  like 
natives.  I  might  send  my  daughters  to 
them  if  they  got  up  a  school,  Miss  Glover 
is  sadly  incompetent  ;  and  then,  as  be 
ginners,  the  Temples  of  course  would  not 
charge  high  prices." 

"  Yery  generous  of  you,  certainly,"  said 
Mrs.  Richards  drily,  and  then  she  turned 
to  the  other  ladies,  not  being  a  woman 
whom  it  was  easy  to  discourage.  Each 
replied  according  to  her  nature,  and  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  prospects  of 
the  two  orphans  did  not  appear  very 
brilliant  afc  the  close  of  the  discussion. 


74  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

Meanwhile  the  preparations  for  the  sale 
went  on.  The  fine  satin  furniture  was 
piled  in  lots;  the  carpets  torn  up,  the 
pictures  placed  in  corners;  bronzes,  marble 
statuettes,  pretty  and  useless  things  which 
had  been  scattered  here  and  there  on 
etageres,  on  side-tables  and  brackets ;  all 
these  things,  which  had  been  familiar  to 
the  members  of  the  household,  and  dear  to 
them,  as  a  part  of  their  lives,  were  now 
handled  by  rough  men.  The  same  rough 
men  invaded  poor  Mrs.  Temple's  room, 
that  room  which  for  so  long  a  time  had 
been  a  sort  of  sanctuary  to  her  daughters  ; 
the  bed  was  undone,  her  favourite  books  and 
all  the  pretty  trifles  she  had  so  valued, — 
partly  because  of  their  prettiness,  partly 
because  of  him  who  had  given  them  to  her, 
— were  arranged  on  the  table.  This  was 
very  hard  to  bear,  and  again  it  was  Martha 


THE    TEMPLE    DISASTER.  75 

on  whom  the  burden  fell.  Lil  was  very 
weak  and  pale;  the  doctor  would  not 
allow  her  to  leave  her  lounge,  and  the 
room  where  she  lay  was  kept  sacred  from 
the  men,  whom  she  heard  tramping  heavily 
up  and  down  stairs. 

There  were  other  steps  besides  those  of 
the  men,  who  were  there  simply  to  do 
their  duty ;  steps  lighter  and  more  furtive. 
Friends,  on  one  pretext  or  another,  came 
to  look  at  the  lots ;  dear  friends  who  had 
more  than  once  admired  certain  objects, 
and  who  meant  to  bid  for  them, — should 
they  go  cheap.  It  was  all  dreadfully  sad, 
of  course;  but  then  why  should  they  not 
profit  by  the  occasion  which  presented 
itself,  as  well  as  strangers  ?  At  sales, 
things  sometimes  went  for  a  mere  song, 
and  what  feminine  nature,  however  tender, 
can  resist  a  good  bargain  ?  So  that,  if 


STORM-DRIVEN. 

fewer  cards  and  notes  were  left  now  than 
during  the  first  days,  the  house  was  not  at 
any  rate  without  its  visitors. 

When  the  more  important  objects  had 
all  been  arranged,  ready  for  the  auction, 
Martha  began  the  inventory  of  her  par 
ticular  belongings,  and  those  of  her  sister. 
One  day,  she  said  rather  abruptly, — 

"Lil,  where  is  your  jewel-box?" 

Lil  started ;  she  knew  vaguely  that  they 
were  ruined,  and  that  everything  must  be 
sold;  but  she  had  not  thought  that  the 
"  everything  "  included  her  trinkets.  She, 
like  her  mother,  was  very  fond  of  pretty 
things. 

"  In  the  bureau  drawer ;  must  they  go 
too? 

"  Certainly  they  must." 

Lil  did  not  dare  remonstrate ;  but  when 
the  casket  was  brought  to  her,  she  opened  it 


THE    TEMPLE    DISASTER.  77 


unwillingly,  and  held  each  pretty  trifle  long 
in  her  hand.  She  sighed  as  she  looked  at 
Martha,  who  was  quietly  making  out  the 
list.  There  was  not  a  ring,  not  so  much 
as  a  slight  gold  chain  with  its  modest 
cross,  that  had  not  its  dear  memories 
clinging  to  it.  They  were  all  presents: 
some  from  schoolmates  to  whom  she  had 
vowed  eternal  friendship  and  fidelity,  and 
whose  names  she  now  scarcely  remem 
bered  ;  from  her  mother ;  from  "  poor 
papa,"  especially.  This  bracelet  she  had 
worn  at  her  first  ball ;  she  remembered  it 
all  so  well !  it  was  three  years  ago,  she 
was  still  a  school-girl,  and  ought  not  to 
have  gone  at  all,  but  her  father  had  taken 
her.  She  remembered  her  violent  heart 
beats,  her  anticipations  of  "  something  " 
which  was  to  happen,  and  did  not;  she 
remembered,  too,  her  surprise  the  next  day 


78  STOBM-DEIVEN. 

at  finding  that  she  was  still  just  what  she 
had  been  before,  with  only  a  headache 
added,  and  a  little  half -acknowledged 
sense  of  disappointment.  The  bracelet 
went  with  the  rest,  for  Martha  was  in 
flexible.  But  when  the  turn  of  her  pretty 
locket  with  the  turquoises  and  diamonds 
came — her  last  gift,  she  held  it  firmly  in 
both  hands. 

"  Not  this,  Martha,  I  must  just  keep  this 
one  locket ! " 

Martha  looked  up  from  her  writing,  and 
a  hard  look  came  into  her  eyes,  as  she 
recognized  the  trinket. 

"  How  long  is  it  since  papa  killed  him 
self,  and  since  poor  mother  died?" 

"Oh,  Martha !" 

"  And  you  can  cry  over  the  loss  of  a 
trinket." 

"  It's  so   short  a  time  since  poor  dear 


THE   TEMPLE    DISASTER.  79 

papa  gave  it  to  me — it  is  as  a  souvenir 
that  I  want  it." 

"  It  is  impossible,  dear,"  said  her  sister 
more  gently ;  "  the  jeweller  consents  to 
take  it  back,  as  he  thinks  he  can  dispose 
of  it.  It  was  never  paid  for." 

Lil  said  no  more;  she  guessed  a  good 
deal  from  the  tone  in  which  the  last  words 
were  uttered,  but  she  cried  silently,  fearing 
to  ask  for  farther  information.  She  had 
been  her  father's  pet,  spoiled  and  humoured 
by  him ;  she  wanted  always  to  think  of 
him  as  the  handsome,  gay,  and  prosperous 
man,  who  seemed  incapable  of  growing 
old;  she  shrank  from  judging  him,  as  she  felt 
that  Martha  judged  him,  and  could  only  feel 
a  tender  pity  for  his  dreadful  end.  It  was  in 
silence,  that  having  kissed  the  locket,  she 
put  it  with  her  other  trinkets.  Martha 
did  not  even  look  up  from  her  work. 


80 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE    EICHAEDS    FAMILY. 

MRS.  RJCHAKDS  was  a  woman  who,  when 
she  said  a  thing,  meant  it.  If,  in  her  de 
termination  to  help  the  Temple  girls,  there 
lurked  something  besides  pure  charity ;  if  it 
gave  her  a  malicious  pleasure  to  prove  once 
more,  that  it  is  the  poor  who  feel  most  for 
the  poor,  who  shall  blame  her  ?  She  called 
several  times  without  being  admitted ; 
Martha  felt  during  those  early  days,  that  a 
word  of  pity  would  break  down  that  firm 
ness  of  which  she  stood  in  such  need.  But 
at  last  Mrs.  Richards  refused  to  be  sent 


THE   EICHABDS   FAMILY.  81 

away,  and  Martha  wearily  consented  to  see 
her. 

"  My  dear  girl,"  said  the  lady,  who  did 
not  believe  in  useless  and  wordy  prepara 
tion.  "  I  have  come  to  take  you  and  Lil 
home  with  me.  The  sale  is  to-morrow,  you 
cannot  of  course  remain  here,  and  besides, 
you  must  have  some  little  rest,  before  you 
look  round  for  work." 

At  first  Martha  resisted,  but  Mrs. 
Richards  with  her  plain  common  sense, 
showed  her,  that  to  go  at  once  to  some 
boarding-house,  and  become  the  objects  of 
vulgar  curiosity,  would  be  dreadful.  "  As 
to  your  fine  friends,  my  dear,  do  not  count 
on  them;  unhappiness  jars  on  their  fine 
nerves,  and  tears  tarnish  the  gilding  of 
their  existence  ;  there  is  no  gilding  in  my  ex 
istence,  therefore  I  can  offer  you  a  welcome 
and  a  shelter,  for  a  week  or  two ;  it's  not 

VOL.    I.  G 


82  STORM-DRIVEN. 

much,  certainly,  but  it's  better  than  nothing. 
I  was  fond  of  your  mother,  and  I  like  you, 
so  I  dare  say  there  is  not  much  merit  in 
what  I  do  ;"  she  said  all  this  very  heartily, 
and  Martha  took  her  hand  gratefully  as  she 
accepted  the  proffered  kindness. 

The  sale  took  place ;  fine  ladies,  un 
daunted  by  the  crush,  by  the  noise,  by  the 
vulgar  bustle  always  attending  such 
auctions,  made  splendid  bargains,  of  which 
they  were  as  proud  as  though  the  main 
object  of  a  rich  woman's  life  had  been  to 
get  things  cheap. 

During  this  time,  the  sisters  were  for 
tunately  safely  sheltered  in  Mrs.  Richards' 
c;  spare  room."  The  going  away  from  the 
house  had  been  very  painful,  especially  to 
Lil,  who  was  still  very  weak.  She  lay,  pale 
and  motionless,  in  the  strange  bed,  looking 
vacantly  around  the  barely-furnished  room, 


THE    RICHARDS   FAMILY.  83 

which  had  that  appearance  of  cold,  stiff  pro 
priety  which  distinguishes  apartments  rarely 
used;  she  was  unable  to  think  much, but  was 
oppressed  with  a  blank  feeling  of  utter 
misery.  She  felt  that  Mrs.  Richards  secretly 
despised  her  for  her  want  of  strength, 
physical  and  mental,  but  she  had  not  energy 
enough  to  care  much,  even  for  that. 

Meanwhile,  Martha  summoned  up  courage 
enough  to  begin,  as  Mrs.  Richards  ex 
pressed  it,  to  "  look  about  her."  From  the 
proceeds  of  the  tsale  of  house,  furniture, 
and  other  valuables,  there  remained,  when 
all  the  creditors  were  paid,  a  small  sum.  Mrs. 
Richards,  in  her  own  name,  had  bought  some 
of  the  plainer  furniture ;  that  paid  for, 
there  still  remained  about  a  hundred  dollars, 
to  start  with. 

"Now,  dear  Mrs.  Richards,"  said  Martha, 
as  she  sat  near  her  hostess,  and  helped 
G  2 


84 


STORM-DRIVEN. 


her  with  her  stocking-darning,  "how 
had  I  best  set  about  looking  for  work  ?" 

"  What  sort  of  work  do  you  mean  to  look 
for  ?" 

"  That  for  which  I  am  best  fitted." 

"  Which  is—  " 

"  Teaching,  I  suppose." 

"  Teaching,  naturally.  It  is  genteel ;  all 
girls  in  your  station  of  life,  who  have  to 
work,  think  of  that  first,  as  a  matter  of 
course.  A  cook  has  to  learn  her  business, 
so  has  a  dressmaker,  so  has  a  factory-girl ; 
whereas  the  art  of  teaching,  which  is 
certainly  more  difficult  than  cooking  or 
sewing,  is  supposed  to  come  by  instinct." 

"  If  I  am  not  fitted  for  that,  I  am,  per 
haps,  still  less  fitted  to  be  cook  or  dress 
maker,  or  even  factory-girl.  Yet,  somehow 
or  other,  Lil  and  I  must  earn  our  own 
bread." 


THE    RICHARDS   FAMILY.  85 

"  Of  course  you  must,  and  if  you  had 
been  brought  up,  as  I  would  have  all  girls 
brought  up,  to  learn  some  profession,  or 
trade, — something  by  which  money  could 
be  earned,  just  as  boys  are  brought  up, 
nothing  would  be  simpler.  If,  instead  of 
your  convent  education  (why  you  were  sent 
to  a  convent  has  always  been  a  mystery  to 
me !),  you  had  gone  through  the  Normal 
School  in  Boston,  for  instance,  teaching 
would  be  your  right." 

"But  I  have  not  been  through  the 
Normal  School,  and,  nevertheless,  I  think 
I  could  teach  as  well  as  most  of  the  Lake- 
ville  school-mistresses  or  governesses. " 

"  Perhaps  you  could,  my  dear,  which,  by 
the  way,  is  no  very  high  compliment  to  pay 
you.  It  seems  you  speak  French  with  a 
tolerable  accent,  and  generally  put  your 
participles  correctly  when  you  write  it, — 


86  STOEM-DE1VEN. 

that  will  tell  in  your  favour  with  -  some  of 
our  fine  ladies,  more  than  sound  English 
grammar.  Lil  plays  prettily  enough  on 
the  piano,  and  has  a  pleasing  voice ;  these 
useless  accomplishments  will  be  paid  her,  I 
suppose,  at  a  higher  rate  than  mathematics, 
of  which  I  am  sure  she  is  profoundly 
ignorant." 

Mrs.  Richards  was  not  very  encouraging, 
but,  in  spite  of  this,  Martha,  who  was  not 
apt  to  let  herself  be  guided  by  the  ideas  or 
prejudices  of  others,  steadily  began  her 
search  for  pupils. 

Still  the  younger  sister,  though  she  was 
able  to  get  up,  remained  principally  in  her 
own  room;  when  she  saw  Martha  come 
home  each  day  from  her  weary  round  of 
visits  to  rich  acquaintances,  looking  fagged 
and  disheartened,  Lil  would  make  real 
efforts  to  shake  off  her  lethargy. 


THE    RICHARDS   FAMILY.  87 

"  Martha,  to-morrow  I  will  go  out  with 
you." 

"  My  poor  Lil,  you  have  scarcely  strength 
to  go  downstairs  to  dinner,  and  sit  out  Mr. 
Richards'  complaints,  and  his  wife's  sharp 
sayings ;  how  could  you  then  stand  the  pity 
of  old  friends,  pity  which  is  half  vulgar 
curiosity,  and  half  contempt  for  poverty. 
You  see  we  were  all  very  well,  as  acquaint 
ances  ;  they  invited  us  to  their  balls,  but 
they  do  not  want  us  as  teachers  for  their 
children.  "  They  are  so  sorry,  is  there 
nothing  else  they  could  do?'  No,  Lil,  get 
strong,  that  is  all  I  want  of  you  for  the 
present ;  and  when  you  are  quite  well,  you 
shall  have  work  enough,  be  sure  of  that." 

Lil  felt  that  all  this  was  true,  but  she 
longed  greatly  to  be  of  some  use  to  her 
over-taxed  sister. 

The  other  inmates  of  the  house  were  less 


88  STOBM-DBIVEN. 

patient  with  the  young  girl  than  Martha 
proved ;  they  looked  on  her  pale  face  as  a 
proof  of  moral  weakness,  and  in  that  family 
weakness  of  any  kind  was  held  to  be  worse 
than  crime. 

One  afternoon  there  came  a  knock  at  the 
door,  and  before  Lil  could  say  "  Come  in," 
Issy  Richards  entered. 

"  Mother  said  I  was  to  rouse  you  up  a 
bit." 

Lil  started  nervously;  she  had  been 
crying,  but  she  hastily  wiped  her  eyes,  and 
tried  to  look  very  brave. 

"  Why  on  earth  do  you  stay  in  this 
dreary  old  room,  when  it's  so  jolly  warm 
down  in  the  parlour?"  continued  Issy, 
looking  round  with  decided  disfavour  on 
the  maternal  spare  room ;  and  in  very 
truth  it  was  not  inviting.  The  white  and 
blue  cottage  furniture  looked  shiveringly 


THE    EICHAEDS   FAMILY.  89 

cold  this  winter  weather ;  there  was  no 
fireplace,  and  the  heat  of  the  furnace  was 
mostly  spent  on  the  lower  rooms,  so  that 
only  occasional  puffs  of  ill-smelling  hot  air 
came  from  the  register.  Near  this  register 
Lil  sat  disconsolately,  wrapped  in  a  shawl. 

"Will  you  not  sit  down?"  she  said, 
without  replying  to  the  girl's  question,  and 
trying  not  to  look  as  though  the  "  rousing 
up "  were  some  inevitable  surgical  opera 
tion,  which  it  needed  much  courage  and 
nerve  to  bear. 

"  Thank  you ;  I  don't  like  those  stiff 
chairs;"  and  she  seated  herself  on  the 
edge  of  the  table.  She  was  an  odd-looking 
little  figure,  as  she  sat  on  her  perch,  with 
her  feet  swinging  to  and  fro.  Her  hair 
was  naturally  so  rough,  that  it  made  a  curly 
halo  about  her  funny  little  face.  She  was 
more  like  some  old  wise  child,  or  malicious 


90  STORM-DRIVEN. 

sprite,  than  like  a  modern  sixteen-year-old 
maiden. 

She  remained  silent  for  some  moments, 
looking  alternately  at  her  own  feet,  and  at 
Lil,  who  certainly,  on  her  part,  did  nothing 
to  further  the  conversation. 

"  How  old  are  you  ?  "  she  said  presently, 
with  that  abruptness  which  characterized 
her  usual  mode  of  address. 

"  Nineteen,"  answered  Lil  meekly,  won 
dering  whether  her  age  would  tell  against 
her  in  the  judgment  of  her  visitor. 

"  Three  years  older  than  I.  I  mean  to 
do  more  with  the  next  three  years,  than 
you  have  done  with  the  three  just  past." 

"  Very  likely,"  answeredLil  despondingly ; 
"  I  have  never  done  much  good  in  my 
life." 

"  Of  course  you  have  not,"  comfortably 
asserted  Issy,  rather  mollified  by  her  vie- 


THE    RICHARDS   FAMILY.  91 

tim's  humility.  "  It  is  not  exactly  your 
fault,  I  suppose.  You  started  in  life  as  a 
fine  lady ;  and  I  will  tell  you  what  such  a 
woman's  life  means.  As  a  girl,  to  look  as 
pretty  as  circumstances  will  permit ;  pay 
visits,  and  dance,  and  flirt;  then  marry,  have 
children  generally;  pay  visits  again,  and 
gossip  instead  of  flirting ;  grow  each  year 
less  nice  to  look  at;  expand  into  fulness, 
r>r  shrivel  to  skin  and  bones,  according  to 
the  nature,  then — die.  ~No  one  has  been  tha 
better  for  such  a  life — no  one  is  worse  off, 
when  it  is  over.  I  mean  to  make  some 
thing  more  of  my  womanhood  than  that. 
Now  there's  you,  for  instance;  you  do  not 
see  it,  I  suppose,  but  in  reality  you  ought 
to  be  grateful  that  something  more  is 
expected  of  you  now,  than  was  expected  a 
month  ago  ;  work  may  make  something  of 
you  yet.  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  it  will, 


92  STORM-DRIVEN. 

but  it  may ;  you  are  not  too  old,  after  all, 
to  take  a  new  start." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Lil,  smiling  in  spite 
of  herself. 

"  Oh  !  I  am  not  quite  sure,  because,  you 
see,  you  have  begun  all  wrong.  Moping 
takes  all  life  and  energy  out  of  a  body,  and 
you  do  nothing  but  mope.  I  suppose  it  is 
dreadful  to  lose  one's  father  and  mother, 
and  one's  fortune  at  the  same  time;  but 
your  sister  has  lost  them  as  well  as  you ; 
and  you  let  her  do  all  the  nasty  work,  all 
the  seeking  for  help  from  people  who  find 
it  much  more  convenient  to  shut  their  eyes 
to  the  unhappiness  about  them,  than  to  try 
and  alleviate  it.  She  plans  and  worries  all 
alone." 

"  I  have  been  ill,"  Lil  ventured  to  say, 
while  the  tears  came  to  her  eyes. 

"  I  know ;  and  what  is  more,  you  were 


THE    RICHARDS    FAMILY.  93 

not  sorry  to  be  ill.  Sickness  gives  one  a 
good  excuse  for  all  sorts  of  things — for 
keeping  away  from  us  for  instance.  Father's 
long  stories  bore  you,  especially  when  he 
tries  to  be  witty  and  imitate  mother.  His 
witticisms  are  a  failure  ;  I  know  it  as  well  as 
you  do.  Then  you  are  afraid  of  mother,  and 
you  cannot  bear  me.  Jessie  you  rather  take 
to,  because  she  is  gentle  and  sickly.  I  dare 
say  you  know,  that  we  are  not  a  very  charm 
ing  family,  but  at  any  rate  we  are  the  only 
people  who  offered  to  take  you  in." 

"  I  am  not  ungrateful,  Issy !  "  exclaimed 
Lil  indignantly.  "  What  a  dreadful  child 
you  are  ! ' ' 

"  Am  I  not  ?  "  answered  Issy  cheerfully. 
"  I  have  been  told  that  often.  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  only  '  dreadful 
children  '  who  have  any  backbone,  and  who, 
later,  make  men  and  women  of  some  ac- 


94  STOKH-DBIVEN. 

count  in  the  world.  Shall  I  tell  you  what 
I  mean  to  make  of  myself  ?  " 

"Do."  Lil  gave  a  little  sigh  of  relief ; 
the  delight  of  talking  about  herself,  she 
thought,  might  divert  her  tormentor's 
attention  from  her  own  shortcomings. 

"  I  mean  to  be  a  painter.  You  know 
that,  if  I  am  a  c  dreadful  child/  I  am  at 
any  rate  the  result  of  mother's  theories. 
As  soon  as  I  showed  talent  for  drawing — 
and  I  have  real  talent — she  told  me  it  was 
to  be  my  profession.  If  I  could  not  be 
come  a  real  artist,  at  least  I  was  to  find 
some  way  of  earning  money  by  my  pencil. 
I  earn  some  now — not  much,  but  there  is  a 
beginning  to  all  things.  I  paint  box-covers, 
valentines,  everything  that  the  shopkeepers 
ask  me  to  do.  Not  long  ago  I  made  a 
flower-piece,  a  real  little  picture ;  it  was 
not  very  good,  but  it  had  a  certain  look 


THE    BICHARDS    FAMILY.  95 

about  it,  and  I  sold  it  for  ten  dollars.  I 
snail  not  keep  to  flowers,  however  ;  I  mean 
to  go  in  for  high  art." 

"  Indeed/'  said  Lil,  feeling  that  she  was 
expected  to  answer.  There  was  something 
very  comical  in  the  appearance  of  this 
votary  of  high  art,  as  she  sat  on  the  table, 
hugging  herself  and  swinging  her  feet. 
The  votary  herself,  however,  had  no  idea 
that  there  was  anything  ridiculous  about 
her ;  she  was  so  in  earnest,  that  she  even 
forgot  to  draw  the  parallel  between  her 
own  aspirations  and  Lil's  uselessness. 

"  I  shall  go  to  Paris  or  Rome,  as  soon  as 
I  have  scraped  enough  money  together.  I 
suppose  that  will  not  be  till  lam  much  older, 
but  the  time  will  come,  sooner  or  later." 

"  You  would  leave  your  family  ?  go  off 
alone  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  why  not  ?     I  should  not  be 


96  STORM-DRIVEN. 

much  missed.  I  am  a  living  theory  to 
mother — not  much  besides ;  she  is  incon 
sistent,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  world ;  for 
there  is  Jessie,  who  is  delicate,  and  affec 
tionate,  and  feminine,  and  all  the  rest  of  it; 
who  never  will  earn  a  cent  for  herself; 
who  will  fall  in  love,  be  sure  of  it,  and 
marry,  and  be  dependent  all  her  life.  Well ! 
mother  cares  more  for  Jessie's  little  finger 
than  for  my  entire  person.  Father's  a 
little  afraid  of  me — I  suppose  because  I  am 
so  like  mother.  Oh,  no  !  I  should  not  be 
missed  much.  They  will  all  be  proud  of 
my  success ;  for  I  mean  to  have  success. 
They  will  talk  of  Issy  who  has  a  studio, 
Issy  who  exhibited  a  picture,  Issy  who  gets 
good  prices  for  what  she  does, — and  that's 
all." 

"  How     can    you     say    such     horrible 
things !  " 


THE   EICHAEDS   FAMILY.  97 

"Because  it  is  the  truth.  People  are 
usually  afraid  of  the  truth ;  they  coyer 
it  up  decently,  go  round  about  it,  shut 
their  eyes  ;  but  that's  not  my  way.  I  look 
things  in  the  face,  without  shrinking." 

"  But  do  you  never  long  for  a  little  real 
affection  ?  " 

Issy  remained  silent  a  moment,  and 
stopped  the  swinging  of  her  feet. 

"  I  should  like  to  say  c  No,5  but  it  would 
not  be  absolutely  true.  Sometimes  I  want 
to  cry,  because  of  the  want  of  affection 
of  those  nearest  to  me  ;  but  as  I  should 
despise  myself  if  I  yielded,  I  swallow  my 
tears.  The  truth  is  that  I  do  not  often 
think  about  it — as  seldom  as  possible; 
when  the  fit  comes  on  me,  I  work  and 
work,  until  I  wear  myself  out ;  that  always 


cures  me." 


"  But  what  about  the  future  ?  "  Lil  ven- 
YOL.  i.  H 


98  STORM-DRIVEN. 

tured  to  say ;  for  she  was  as  romantic  as 
most  girls  of  her  age.  "  Do  you  never 
fancy  that  the  life  you  propose  to  yourself 
will  be  very  cold  and  hard  ?  " 

"You  mean  by  that,"  answered  Issy 
composedly,  "  that  when  I  arrive  at  the 
age  when  girls  usually  marry,  I  too  shall 
want  a  husband  ?  Not  I !  I  read  lots  of 
novels,  I  like  to  read  them,  they  seem  to 
fill  a  part  of  my  nature  which  needs  to  be 
filled ;  but  as  to  putting  any  romance  into 
my  life — no,  no!  I  shall  cut  my  hair 
short,  and  dress  quite  out  of  the  fashion. 
Be  sure  that,  were  I  a  very  treasure  of 
sensibility,  of  gentleness,  of  devotion,  of 
intelligence,  short  hair  and  an  ugly  dress 
would  suffice  to  keep  the  whole  male  sex  at 
a  respectful  distance." 

Issy  did  not  often  secure  so  good  a 
listener.  She  talked  on  and  on  with  her 


THE    KICHARDS   FAMILY.  99 

reckless  frankness,  but  with  her  scrupulous 
truthfulness  as  well.  It  did  Lil  good. 
When  at  length  her  witch-like  visitor  was 
called  away,  she  remained  for  some  time 
lost  in  thought;  the  " rousing"  was  pro 
ducing  its  effect.  At  last  she  got  up,  put 
on  her  black  hat,  with  its  long  crape  veil; 
she  shivered  under  the  sombre,  dismal 
folds ;  she  forced  herself  to  look  steadily 
in  the  glass  ;  then  quietly  she  went  down 
stairs  and  left  the  house.  She  was  still 
very  weak,  and  walked  with  difficulty; 
everything  about  her  appeared  changed 
since  she  had  walked  along  these  very 
streets,  so  short  a  time  before,  gay  and 
prettily  dressed.  Now,  through  her  veil, 
the  town  had  a  sad  and  solemn  look,  as 
though  it  also  were  in  mourning ;  and  the 
people  who  passed  by,  laughing  and  talk 
ing,  seemed  to  her  as  irreverent  as  unbe- 
H  2 


100  STORM-DRIVEN. 

lievers  laughing  in  holy  places.  More  than 
once  she  was  tempted  to  go  back ;  but  she 
had  taken  her  resolution,  and  she  persisted. 
That  evening,  at  the  tea-table,  she  said 
quietly, — 

"Mrs.  Games  has  engaged  me  to  go  every 
afternoon  to  teach  her  children  their  school- 
lessons,  and  to  begin  the  piano  to  the  two 
youngest.  I  remembered  hearing  her  com 
plain  that  she  had  no  time  to  overlook  her 
children  herself,  so  as  I  offered  to  do  it  for 
very  little,  she  said  that  I  might  try." 

Every  one  looked  up  surprised,  and  there 
was  triumph  in  Martha's  eyes,  very  pleasant 
to  see. 

"  That's  right,  my  dear  ! "  said  Mrs. 
Richards  heartily  ;  "  the  sooner  you  begin, 
the  better." 

"  That's  my  doing,"  whispered  Issy  to 
her  mother  with  great  complacency. 


101 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SOME   FLOWERS. 

GRIEF,  in  the  midst  of  luxury, — expending 
itself  in  a  warm,  well-curtained,  darkened 
room,  where  sympathizing  friends  come  on 
tip-toe,  and  speak  in  softened  voices, — 
differs  essentially  from  grief,  which  has  to 
look  some  of  the  sternest  of  life's  facts  in 
the  face.  Blow  after  blow  had  fallen  on  the 
sisters,  one  of  which  alone  would  have  suf 
ficed  to  make  life  seem  blank  and  dreary ; 
yet  they  had  to  think  and  act  in  the  midst 
of  it  all,  keeping  their  wits  about  them,  and 
only  indulging  occasionally  in  the  abandon- 


102  STOEM-DBIVEN. 

ment  to  their  sorrow.  After  the  first  step 
had  been  taken,  Lil  kept  bravely  at  her 
sister's  side,  taking  her  share  of  the  worries 
and  annoyances  of  their  new  position.  She 
won  thereby  the  somewhat  grudging  appro 
bation  of  Mrs.  Richards,  and  the  patroniz 
ing  regard  of  Issy,  who  looked  upon  the 
sudden  change  in  their  young  guest  as  her 
own  especial  work. 

People  were  not  wanting,  who  found  it 
extraordinary  that  the  two  girls,  so  short  a 
time  after  their  misfortunes,  should  be  able 
to  go  quietly  about  their  affairs;  discuss 
practical  questions  with  calm  faces,  and 
even  listen  to  commonplace  attempts  at 
consolation,  with  only  an  occasional  half- 
stifled  sob. 

"I  guess  they  have  not  much  feeling," 
would  say  Mrs.  Brown,  the  stout  matron, 
who  at  Mrs.  Richards'  sewing-circle  had 


SOME    FLOWERS.  103 

volunteered  to  have  her  children  taught  at 
reduced  prices  by  the  beginners.     "  When 
I  lost  my  poor  father,  I  let  no  one  see  me 
for  well-nigh    a  month,  and  even  then  I 
always   had   my   handkerchief  up   to   my 
eyes.     As  to  that  Martha  Temple,  a  little 
more,  and  she  would  actually  have  laughed 
the  other  day,  when  I  tried  to  explain  to 
her  my  ideas  on  education  !     There  was  a 
twinkle  in  her  eyes,  my  word  on  it !  and  I 
am  sure  there  was  nothing  to  laugh  at  in 
what  I  said.     But  some  people  have  not 
much  heart ;  the  Temples  don't  even  seem 
to  understand  the  disgrace  of  the  thing — 
for  suicide  does  leave  a  stain  on  the  me 
mory  ! "  added  the  lady,  drawing  herself 
up  with  the  consciousness  of  using  very  fine 
language.     "  They  do  not  even  seem  grate 
ful  to  us  for  not  making  them  feel  that." 
Others  besides  Mrs.  Brown  looked  with 


104  STORM-DRIVEN. 

disfavour  on  the  conduct  of  Martha  and 
Lil.  Of  course  it  was  known  in  a  general 
way,  that  they  would  have  to  work  for  their 
living,  and  certainly,  if  instead  of  seeking 
that  work,  they  had  yielded  to  their  natural 
grief,  the  criticism  would  not  have  been  less 
universal  or  less  severe.  But  to  these  fine 
people,  who  belonged  to  a  world  in  which 
the  wheels  of  life  are  so  well  oiled,  that 
they  go  on  smoothly  without  a  shock  to 
the  most  sensitive  nerves,  there  seemed  a 
sort  of  indecency  in  the  fact  that  the  sisters 
should  be  met  in  the  streets,  and  seen  to 
ring  at  many  doors.  Those,  whose  days 
melt  easily  and  quickly  one  into  another,  do 
not  reflect  that  grief  lengthens  out  time 
greatly;  that  sleepless  nights  and  harrassed 
days  are  very  long  to  pass. 

There  still  were  cards  and  messages  left ; 
a  few  friendly  visits  paid  also ;  but  each 


SOME    FLOWERS.  105 

day  these  grew  rarer.  It  could  not  be 
otherwise ;  at  the  time,  the  catastrophe  had 
been  so  terrible  that  public  interest  was 
arrested ;  the  papers  had  discussed  it  with 
the  frankness  which  characterizes  those 
publications ;  fashionable  ministers  had  im 
proved  the  occasion,  by  preaching  on  the 
unstableness  of  human  happiness ;  and  in 
every  house  it  had  been  discussed.  But 
soon  other  subjects  of  startling  interest  had 
arisen ;  a  fire  eating  up  half  a  city ;  a 
divorce  case  of  palpitating  interest ;  a  dis 
puted  election  ....  in  short,  life  went 
on,  and  with  it  the  world.  It  has  always 
been  so,  and  so  it  will  always  be. 

To  Lil  this  was  a  hard  lesson  to  learn. 
She  had  been  all  her  short  life  so  guarded, 
so  petted,  so  surrounded,  that  she  at  first 
would  not  believe  that  those  who  had  made 
much  of  her  when  she  was  rich  and  happy, 


106  STORM-DRIVEN. 

could  forsake  or  forget  her  now  when  she 
most  needed  consolation.  One  day  she 
received  the  following  note  from  Mrs. 
Cox:— 

"  MY   DEAR    LlL, 

"  I  so  want  to  see  you,  my  pet !  but  I 
dare  not ;  I  am  so  soft-hearted  that  I  should 
cry,  which  would  be  an  odd  way  of  cheer 
ing  you ;  besides,  I  must  tell  you  that  the 
suffering  of  those  I  love  always  affects  me 
so  exquisitely,  that  I  am  forced — by  order 
of  my  doctor — to  avoid  exposing  myself  to 
any  such  emotion.  I  leave  to-morrow  for 
New  York,  and  Washington ;  I  suppose  I 
shall  be  very  gay  there,  as  my  friends 
always  make  such  a  fuss  with  me,  but  be 
lieve,  dear  girl,  that  I  shall  often  think  of 
you.  .  .  .  All  black  must  be  sadly  unbe 
coming  to  you !  .  .  .  I  am  told  that  you 


SOME    FLOWEES.  107 

will  be  quite  poor ;  I  wanted  to  help  you, 
but  your  sister  would  not  hear  of  it;  she 
is,  I  suppose,  too  proud  to  accept  anything, 
but  if  you,  my  love,  want  a  new  dress  or 
anything  of  the  sort,  let  roe  know,  for  I 
wish  you  always  to  look  upon  me 

"  As  your  very  affectionate  friend, 

"  ANN  Cox. 

"P.S.  Leigh  Ward  is  going  East  also 
before  long." 

"When  she  had  read  this  note,  Lil  sat  very 
still  for  some  time.  Mrs.  Cox's  postscript 
was  doing  its  work,  as  probably  she  had 
intended  it  should.  She  started  at  last, 
hearing  a  knock  at  the  door ;  Mrs.  Richards' 
one  servant  came  in,  a  broad  grin  on  her 
good-natured  Irish  face,  and  in  her  hands 
the  most  exquisite  basket  of  flowers  that 
Lil  had  ever  seen. 


108  STORM-DRIVEN. 

"  Them's  for  you,  miss." 

"For  me?  who  sent  them?"  and  the 
colour  rushed  to  her  pale  face. 

"  I  can't  tell,  miss ;  I  guess  it  must  be 
some  beau  or  other.  It  was  a  boy  from  the 
place  brought  'em,  and  he  said  as  how  the 
gentleman  had  left  no  card." 

"Very  well,"  said  Lil,  taking  her 
flowers,  and  trying  not  to  let  the  girl  see 
that  she  was  trembling  with  pleasure. 

He  had  not  forgotten  her,  after  all; 
she  had  judged  him  too  hastily ;  in  their 
short  interview  he  had  been  embarrassed — 
nothing  more ;  if,  since  then,  he  had  kept 
away,  it  had  been  out  of  delicacy ;  he 
had  left  the  task  of  reassuring  her  to 
these  beautiful  flowers.  Doubtless  he  had 
arranged  them  himself;  he  had  such  ex 
quisite  taste.  He  was  by  nature  an 
artist,  a  poet,  he,  who  loved  music  so 


SOME    FLOWERS.  109 

fervently,  had  with  the  sweet  harmony  of 
colours,  composed  a  symphony  of  beauty, 
all  for  her. 

Usually,  after  the  evening  meal,  the 
seven  o'clock  tea,  or  "  supper  "  as  it  was 
called  in  the  family,  Lil  would  slip  upstairs 
to  her  room,  on  the  plea  of  fatigue — a 
plea  her  pale  face  and  languid  move 
ments  fully  justified;  but  this  evening 
she  followed  the  others  into  the  sitting- 
room.  This  sitting-room  was  certainly 
not  luxurious ;  to  Lil  it  seemed  very  bare 
and  ugly ;  yet  there  was  a  certain  feeling 
of  comfort  about  the  place,  it  was  large  and 
well-warmed,  the  horsehair-covered  furni 
ture  was  ugly  enough  certainly,  but  it  had 
been  so  worn,  so  played  upon  by  children, 
that  it  had  lost  all  the  stiff,  slippery  look 
which  usually  distinguishes  that  kind  of 
furniture ;  there  was  a  sort  of  jolly 


110  STORM-DEIVEX. 

shabbiness  about  it,  and  about  the  carpet, 
too.  As  with  Mrs.  Eicliards  herself,  there 
was  no  shame-faced  poverty  in  the  look 
of  the  room ;  it  cheerfully  made  the  best 
of  things.  Mrs.  Richards  had  a  feeling 
of  comfortable  superiority  over  her  rich 
neighbours,  as  being  more  thoroughly  re 
publican  and  American,  because  of  her 
hard  life.  When  she  turned  a  dress,  or 
made  her  own  puddings,  she  was  buoyed 
up  by  a  cheerful  sense  of  virtue ;  she  felt 
like  certain  mothers  of  a  dozen  children, 
that  she  deserved  well  of  her  country. 
But  she  did  more  than  sew  or  bake ;  she 
was  an  indefatigable  reader,  she  laid  all 
her  friends  under  contribution  for  books 
which  she  was  too  poor  to  buy ;  every 
thing  was  welcome;  translations  of  Ger 
man  philosophy,  or  of  French  socialistic 
works  ;  novels,  poems,  treatises  on  political 


SOME    FLOWERS.  Ill 

economy — nothing  came  amiss  to  her  :  she 
had,   to   an   eminent  degree,  the   national 
thirst  for  knowledge ;  what  she  thus  read 
with  wonderful  rapidity,  could  not  all  be 
perfectly  digested  certainly,  but  there  re 
mained  enough  of  all  this  matter  in  her 
mind,  to  enable  her  to  dash  headlong  into 
any  discussion,  however  abstract.      There 
are  many  Mrs.  Richards' s  in  America;  they 
form   an   element    which,    better   trained, 
with  a  more  thorough  discipline  in  youth, 
a  little  less  of    intellectual    pride,  and  a 
little  more  of  charity,  would  do  as  much 
good   to   their   country,   as  the  frivolous 
lovers  of  luxury,  the   women   who   make 
of   fashion    and   dress   the   idols    of  their 
lives,  are  doing  harm  to  it.      Something 
of  all  this,  excepting  the    last    reflection 
however,    passed    through   Lil's   mind   as 
she  watched  her  hostess ;  the  good  reso- 


112  STORM-DRIVEN. 

lution  which  had  induced  her  to  spend 
the  evening  with  the  family,  did  not 
extend  to  the  joining  in  the  family  talk; 
she  sat  at  the  table,  pretending  to  look 
over  the  books  and  papers  which  covered 
it;  little  Jessie  Richards,  a  fair  delicate 
child  stood  at  her  side,  but  so  that  Lil 
stroked  her  soft  hair  she  did  not  require 
either  to  entertain  or  be  entertained. 
Issy  only  spoke  occasionally,  in  disjointed 
sentences;  she  was  busy  arranging  her 
drawings  for  the  inspection  of  Mr.  Bruce, 
who  had  promised  to  look  over  them  that 
evening.  As  to  Mr.  Richards,  he  was 
blandly  sleeping  on  the  sofa,  while  his 
energetic  spouse  discoursed  volubly  with 
Martha.  Lil  was  much  engrossed  in  her 
own  thoughts,  but  she  nevertheless  caught 
part  of  that  conversation. 

"  I  used  to  think  that  working  for  one's 


SOME   FLOWERS.  113 

living  was  a  very  simple  thing  indeed; 
that  it  only  required  energy,  perseverance, 
and  hearty  good-will,  whereas — " 

"  Whereas  my  dear,  these  qualities  alone 
are  entirely  insufficient,"  retorted  Mrs. 
Eichards,  cheerfully  conscious  that  Martha 
was  beginning  to  be  really  discouraged. 
"  You  must  understand  that  you  are  not 
the  only  women  who  have  need  of  genteel 
work, — for  that  kind,  the  supply  is  always 
far  greater  than  the  demand.  Intelligent 
young  women  in  want  of  money  swarm ; 
and  it  is  those  who  have  most  assurance, 
who  know  best  how  to  put  a  bold  face  on 
things,  who  succeed;  and  by  no  means 
those  who  are  most  worthy  and  most 
conscientious.  You  have  too  much  con 
science  by  half." 

"  I  own  that  the  idea  of  having  a 
regular  school,  even  a  small  school, 

VOL.  i.  I 


114  STORM-DRIVEN. 

frightens  me.  I  could  easily,  I  know, 
teach  certain  things — give  French  lessons, 
for  instance — but  pretend  to  teach  every 
thing,  that  is  a  very  different  matter ! 
Suppose  a  pupil  were  to  ask  me  a  ques 
tion,  and  that  I  should  be  unable  to 
answer?" 

"Answer  all  the  same,  boldly,  calmly; 
neither  the  child  nor  its  parents,  most 
likely,  would  find  out  your  ignorance, 
whereas  if  you  hesitate — you  are  lost !  As 
to  the  sort  of  governessing  you  speak  of, 
that  is  out  of  the  question.  "What  we 
ask  for  in  this  country  is  school — a  good 
place  to  send  one's  children,  so  as  to  have 
some  hours  of  quiet.  Children,  as  long  as 
they  are  in  the  house,  are  a  constant 
worry;  schools  were  invented  for  the 
relief  of  mothers,  far  more  than  for  the 
education  of  children;  it  is  from  that 


SOME    FLOWERS.  115 

point  of  view  that  you  must  look  at  the 
matter." 

"  But  there  will  be  the  rent,  and  the 
various  expenses  of  such  an  establish 
ment." 

"My  dear  Martha,  I  have  found  you 
the  very  thing  you  need ;  you  and  Lil  are 
shocked  at  my  idea,  but  you  will  end  by 
adopting  it." 

The  "  very  thing  "  which  Mrs.  Eichards 
had  found,  was  as  eccentric  as  the  finder 
herself.  This  was  it :  a  great,  unfinished, 
five-story  building;  that  dreariest  of 
things  a  new  ruin,  with  gaping  frarneless 
windows,  and  bare  un plastered  beams ;  a 
speculation  left  unfinished  for  want  of 
funds.  On  the  ground-floor  of  this  deso 
late  place  were  two  large  rooms  which 
the  speculator  had  intended  for  his  private 
offices,  and  which  were  about  habitable 
i  2 


116  STORM-DKIVEN. 

the  flooring  laid  and  the  walls  whitewashed. 
Until   some   adventurous   spirit   could   be 
found   to  finish   the   building,    these   two 
rooms  could  be  hired  at  a  reasonable  price ; 
the  warehouse  was  situated  in  a  fashionable 
avenue  which  business  had  threatened  to 
invade,    but  business    had   soon   thought 
better  of  the  matter,  and  the  adventurous 
spirit  was  not  likely  to   be  found  imme 
diately.      Lil,   though   she   did   not   often 
interfere,  had  expressed  her   utter  disap 
proval   of  the    plan ;  it   was   odd,  it  was 
ridiculous,  and  she  dreaded  ridicule  above 
all  things.     How  would  it  be  possible  for 
Leigh  Ward  for  instance,   ever  to  call  at 
such  a  place?      Martha   herself  was    not 
quite  in  favour  of  it,  and  went  everywhere 
trying  to  find  something  better;  what  she 
did  find  was  so  exorbitant  in  price  that 
she  shrank  back  frightened,  and  regretted 


SOME    FLOWEES.  117 

more  and  more  that  governessing  should 
not  be  possible. 

In  the  midst  of  the  discussion — which 
grew  so  animated  that  Issy  was  actually 
tempted  to  leave  her  drawings,  so  as  to 
give  her  sage  opinion  with  that  frankness 
peculiar  to  Americans  of  her  sex  and  age — 
the  door  opened,  and  John  Bruce  entered ; 
Issy  immediately  left  her  mother's  side 
and  took  possession  of  the  young  man,  as 
though  he  had  been  her  especial  property. 
She  was  less  sharp,  less  dogmatic  with 
him  than  with  any  one  else ;  she  recognized 
his  superiority  as  artist,  and  also  perhaps 
she  felt  the  influence  of  his  nature,  at  once 
strong  and  gentle,  simple,  yet  with  a 
certain  unconscious  dignity,  which  earnest 
work  and  a  high  purpose  always  bestow. 

This  was  the  first  time  John  Bruce  had 
seen  Lil  since  the  ball ;  he  had  been  quite 


118  STORM-DRIVEN. 

often  to  the  house  of  late,  having  appa 
rently  taken  Mrs.  Richards'  reproaches  to 
heart,  but  Lil  had  never  before  been  pre 
sent.  He  freed  himself  from  Issy's  im 
portunities,  and  went  up  to  where  the 
young  girl  sat  apart ;  he  wanted  to  tell 
her  of  all  his  pity,  but  he  could  not,  he 
only  wrung  her  hand,  looking  at  her  with 
his  eyes  full  of  earnest  sympathy. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Bruce,"  said  Lil ;  she 
felt  very  grateful  to  him ;  indeed,  she  was 
in  a  mood  that  evening  to  be  easily 
touched. 

"  This  is  what  I  wanted  to  show  you, 
Mr.  Bruce  !"  exclaimed  Issy,  in  her  sharp, 
shrill  voice;  he  went  to  her,  and  they 
were  soon  both  deeply  engrossed.  Issy 
was  an  apt  pupil,  she  was  never  destined 
to  make  a  great  artist,  for  the  sympathy 
with  what  is  beautiful  and  elevated  was 


SOME    FLOWERS.  119 

wanting  in  her;  but  she  had  a  power  of 
imitation  which  was  remarkable ;  without 
knowing  it,  she  already  belonged  to  that 
realistic  school  of  art  which  has  in  our 
days  so  exaggerated  a  number  of  admirers. 

"  Oh  !  if  I  could  only  go  to  Paris  with 
you ! "  she  exclaimed,  with  such  eager 
enthusiasm  that  it  was  impossible  even  to 
smile  at  the  oddness  of  the  proposition. 

"  I  am  afraid  your  mother  might  object 
to  such  a  plan." 

"  Object  ?  why  should  she  ?  Oh  !  because 
I  am  a  girl  and  you  are  a  man.  "What 
nonsense !  I  would  dress  like  a  boy,  and 
no  one  would  ever  know  the  difference ;  I 
would  be  your  pupil,  or  if  you  did  not  want 
to  be  bothered  with  me,  I  could  enter  the 
studio  where  you  were,  and  work  with  the 
other  students.  What  keeps  me  back  is 
not  at  all  that  I  am  a  girl,  but  that  I  have 


120  STORM-DRIVEN. 

no  money  for  the  journey ;  and  to  think 
that  there  are  rich  women  who  spend 
thousands  and  thousands  of  dollars  on 
dress  and  such  rubbish  ! " 

"You  do  not  know  exactly  what  a 
painter's  atelier  in  Paris  is  like/'  said  John 
quietly ;  "  if  you  were  my  sister  you  should 
never  enter  one." 

"  Because  you,  as  a  man,  are  bound  to 
have  narrow  prejudices ;  you  do  not  know 
me,  I  am  afraid  of  nothing;  besides,  I  should 
be  so  absolutely  absorbed  in  my  work,  that 
I  should  hear,  see,  notice  nothing  beyond 
that."  John  looked  at  her  a  little  curiously; 
there  was  no  doubting  her  entire  sincerity; 
she  was  quite  capable,  he  thought,  of  doing 
as  she  said.  Presently  she  added,  "  When 
do  you  leave  ?" 

"  Next  week,  that  is  if  all  can  be  ready 
in  time — you  know  I  do  not  go  alone." 


SOME    FLOWERS.  121 

"  Indeed,"  said  Lil,  looking  up  suddenly 
with  a  half-smile.  "  Are  you  going  to  take 
a  wife  with  you?" 

John  blushed  slightly,  and  then  there 
was  something  of  displeasure,  almost  of 
reproach  in  his  eyes,  as  he  looked  at  her ; 
she  was  interested,  as  all  women  instinc 
tively  are,  at  the  idea  of  love  and  marriage, 
and  he  seemed  by  no  means  grateful  for 
that  interest. 

"  No,  Miss  Temple,  1  am  not  going  to 
be  married,  yet  awhile  at  least ;  my  sister 
is  going  over  with  me." 

"  Not  yet  awhile,  or  ever,  I  hope,"  Issy 
exclaimed,  "  I  should  never  forgive  you  if 
you  married ;  what  have  you,  an  artist,  to 
do  with  matrimony?" 

"  I  hope  to  have  something  to  do  with  it 
some  day ;  artists  more  perhaps  than  other 
men  need  affection  and  sympathy." 


122  STORM-DRIVEN. 

He  said  this  rather  shortly,  and  imme 
diately  resumed  his  criticism  of  the 
drawings. 

"  Oh !  what  shall  I  do  when  you  are 
gone?"  sighed  Issy. 

"  What  you  must  do,  is  to  sketch  a  great 
deal,  all  the  time,  sketch  rather  than 
attempt  finished  drawings ;  whenever  you 
see  any  object,  animate  or  inanimate,  which 
strikes  your  fancy,  jot  it  down  ;  try  and  do 
this  with  as  few  strokes  as  possible,  catch 
the  attitude,  the  movement  of  a  figure, 
for  instance — pray  Miss  Temple,  keep  that 
position  a  minute  or  two,"  and  putting  his 
own  theory  in  practice,  he  rapidly  sketched 
the  young  girl,  whose  pensive  attitude  had 
struck  him  as  peculiarly  graceful. 

"  Yes,  I  see,"  said  Issy,  eagerly  following 
each  stroke,  "  how  like  it  is,  though  there 
is  but  a  bit  of  the  cheek  to  be  seen ;  give  it 


SOME   FLOWEES.  123 

to  me,  Mr.  Bruce,  it  will  serve  me  as 
model.5' 

"  No ;  you  need  no  such  model,"  and  he 
put  the  scrap  of  paper  in  his  pocket-book. 
"  Now,  see  what  you  can  do ;  while  I  talk 
to  Miss  Temple,  you  sketch  both  of  us." 

But  once  seated  by  Lil,  he  seemed  quite 
unable  to  enter  with  any  animation  into 
the  announced  conversation;  he  played 
with  a  paper-knife,  and  only  found  short, 
commonplace  phrases. 

"  Time  must  hang  heavily  on  your  hands, 
Miss  Temple,"  he  said,  when  he  had  dis 
cussed  the  weather. 

"  Yes  ;  even  when  I  am  busy, — for  I  am 
busy.  I  have  begun  to  work  for  my  living ; 
I  used  to  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  delight 
of  independence,  the  pride  of  earning  one's 
bread,  but  I  find  no  delight  or  pride  in  it 
at  all.  I  ought  to  feel  my  nature  elevated 


124  STOKM-DEIVEN. 

I  suppose,  when  I  have  spent  an  hour  in 
trying  to  teach  her  notes  to  a  child  of  five, 
or  hearing  French  verbs  from  one  of  ten, 
but  I  do  not. 

"  All  will  come  easier  to  you  before  long," 
said  John,  who  wanted  sadly  to  be  eloquent, 
and  who  felt  deeply  humiliated  at  his  con 
tinued  failure.  "  When  I  come  back  from 
Paris,  I  shall  find  you  successful,  and  very- 
proud  of  your  success.  I  shall  think  of 
you,  and  of  your  sister,  very  often." 

"  There !  I  have  finished  my  drawing," 
exclaimed  Issy.  "  Look,  mother  !  does  it 
not  look  sentimental  ?  just  as  though  they 
were  a  pair  of  lovers." 

"Exactly,"  said  Mrs.  Richards  drily. 


125 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

WOEK. 

MAETHA  had  hoped  to  begin  her  little 
school  with  about  twenty  pupils;  that 
number  had  been  half-promised  to  her; 
this  had  not  been  accomplished  without 
much  difficulty,  without  many  humiliating 
refusals  or  hesitations ;  but  finally,  thanks 
to  Mrs.  Richards'  energetic  help,  and  to 
her  own  tact  and  good  sense,  her  prospects 
seemed  tolerably  fair.  On  the  strength  of 
these  prospects,  since  it  was  quite  evident 
that  nothing  better  could  be  found,  the 
"very  thing"  discovered  by  Mrs.  Eichards 


126  STORM-DRIVEN. 

was  hired;  small  desks,  chairs,  maps,  and 
other  indispensable  articles  bought  with 
the  remaining  dollars,  and  the  day  for  the 
opening  of  the  school  fixed. 

But  at  the  last  moment,  several  of  the 
parents  retracted ;  it  was  such  a  queer  sort 
of  school  for  their  children  to  go  to;  it 
was  not  damp,  it  was  larger  and  more  airy 
than  many  of  the  other  private  schools,  but 
then  it  certainly  was  queer.  Besides  there 
was  another  thing  which  told  greatly 
against  the  Temple  girls,  they  were  Papists; 
as  long  as  they  had  been  rich,  this  eccen- 

• 

tricity  was  forgiven  them,  barely  forgiven 
it  is  true, — as  the  eccentricities  of  the  rich 
are  forgiven  by  the  world. 

Mrs.  Temple  had  belonged  to  one  of  the 
old  Baltimore  Catholic  families,  but  as 
often  happens,  when  the  parents  are  of 
different  religions,  the  children  had  at  first 


WORK.  127 

been  left  to  grow  up  with  no  well-defined 
faith ;  at  the  convent,  however,  where  they 
had  been  sent  for  their  education,  things 
changed  at  once,  and  their  Catholicity  grew 
firm  and  distinct. 

It  was  as  "queer"  to  be  Papists, as  to  open 
a  school  in  an  unfinished  warehouse  ;  well- 
bred  people  disapproved  of  the  one  as  much 
as  of  the  other;  besides,  the  low  religion 
had  made  alarming  progress  of  late,  and 
prudent  clergymen  advised  mothers  of 
families  not  to  place  their  children  under 
such  dangerous  influences.  In  a  few  days, 
the  twenty  pupils  dwindled  down  to  twelve; 
it  required  all  Martha's  energy  and  deter 
mination  not  to  be  entirely  discouraged. 
Mrs.  Richards,  who  was  a  staunch  Presby 
terian,  did  not  fail  to  improve  the  occasion 
by  making  her  understand  that  her  religion 
was  the  great  cause  of  her  failure,  and 


* 

128  STORM-DRIVEN. 

that  her  failure  was  after  all  quite  de 
served. 

But  if  Mrs.  Richards  lost  no  opportunity 
of  preaching  the  superiority  of  Protes 
tantism,  she  continued  to  prove  herself  as 
helpful  and  as  good  a  friend  as  ever. 

"When  the  time  came  for  the  sisters  to 
take  possession  of  their  new  abode,  she, 
her  daughter  Issy,  and  John — who  had 
grown  to  be  quite  one  of  the  family — all 
went  cheerfully  to  work  to  put  things  to 
rights.  John  proved  to  have  a  perfect 
genius  for  hanging  up  maps,  driving  in 
nails,  and  making  doors  move  easily  on 
their  hinges.  His  talents  did  not  stop  here  : 
in  the  other  room,  which  was  to  serve  both 
as  sitting  and  bed-room,  he  contrived  to 
take  away  all  air  of  stiffness ;  he  draped 
the  curtains,  disposed  the  furniture  to  the 
best  possible  advantage,  and  decorated  the 


WORK.  129 

bare    walls    with,   a   number    of    sketches 

and   studies,   which    he    had    had    nicely 

framed. 

"I  am  going  away;  it  would  be  very 

kind  of  you  to  keep  them  till  my  return," 

he  said,  in  his  off-hand  way. 

It  was  a  day  of  bustle,  of  hard  work, 
and  of  great  cheerfulness  to  most  of  these 
busy  people;  a  sort  of  picnic  lunch  was 
eaten  in  the  schoolroom;  several  small 
desks  placed  side  by  side  formed  a  tolerable 
table.  But  when  everything  was  in  order, 
and  Mrs.  Richards  had  gone  away  with 
Issy,  John  Bruce  lingered  yet  a  little ;  he 
was  to  leave  the  next  day,  and  certainly  he 
had  many  things  still  to  do — things  which 
he  had  neglected,  so  as  to  help  the  sisters — 
yet  he  lingered. 

"  How  shall  I  hear  about  you,  and  about 
the    success    of   your  undertaking?"    he 

VOL.    I.  K 


1 30  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

said,  as  at  last  he  took  leave.  "  Mrs. 
Richards  has  promised  to  write  to  me." 

"  And  we  will  send  you  messages  in 
every  letter,  be  sure  of  that,  John,55  said 
Martha  heartily;  she  called  him  John,  for 
she  had  known  him  when  he  was  quite  a 
boy,  when  Lil  was  yet  at  school. 

"  Thanks."  He  would  have  liked  to  ask 
to  be  written  to  directly,  but  that  he  had 
not  the  courage  to  do.  "  Good-bye  ! — do 
not  forget  me  quite.55 

"  Good-bye  !  Mr.  Bruce ;  we  are  very 
grateful  to  you  for  your  kindness ;  and  we 
understand  your  delicate  attentions  better 
perhaps  than  you  think,55  said  Lil  gently ; 
she  felt  very  kindly  towards  this  young 
man,  who  had  not  abandoned  them  in  their 
misfortunes — as  others  had  done. 

When  he  had  gone,  Lil  looked  discon 
solately  about  her ;  it  was  already  dark,  and 


WORK.  131 

as  no  gas-pipes  had  been  laid  on  in  the 
unfinished  building,  the  improvised  school 
room  was  lighted  by  a  couple  of  candles. 
It  looked  dreary  enough ;  the  corners  of  the 
big  room  were  in  complete  darkness,  and 
the  rows  of  new  black  desks  appeared 
funereal  in  the  extreme.  Lil  had  always 
disapproved  of  the  place,  and  she  looked 
forward  to  their  life  in  this  odd  refuge  with 
great  misgivings. 

"  Why  should  not  new  ruins  be  haunted 
as  well  as  old  ruins  ? "  she  said,  as  she 
listened  to  the  ominous  sound  of  the  wind 
careering  among  the  rafters  of  the  window- 
less  upper  stories. 

"  Ghosts  are  far  too  aristocratic  to  think 
of  taking  possession  of  such  a  place," 
answered  Martha,  laughing. 

"  I  know  I  shall  die  of  fright,"  continued 
Lil  shivering. 

K  2 


132  STORM-DRIVEN. 

"Well,  before  that  sad  event  takes  place, 
do  come  and  help  me  with  these  books," 
said  the  e]der  sister,  who  sensibly  con 
cluded  that  all  Lil  needed  to  chase  away 
her  nervous  fears,  was  a  little  occupation. 

As  to  herself,  it  was  with  positive  relish 
that  she  prepared  to  begin  life  in  earnest. 
Like  many  another  intelligent,  active-1 
minded  young  woman,  Martha  had  often 
felt  the  need  of  some  serious  interest,  some 
real  work ;  her  girlhood,  spent  in  luxury, 
in  pleasures  which  had  scarcely  been  plea 
sures  to  her,  had  always  seemed  to  her 
very  empty ;  when  her  mother  had  fallen 
ill,  she  had  devoted  herself  to  her  entirely, 
refusing  absolutely  ever  to  leave  her  side 
for  any  society  duties,  or  pleasures.  But 
even  this  had  left  many  hours  on  her 
hands ;  she  was  fond  of  reading,  but  there 
had  been  no  one  to  direct  her  studies,  none 


WORK.  133 

with  whom  she  could  discuss  her  half- 
formed  ideas,  the  unsolved  problems  which 
arose  in  her  mind.  Now,  everything  had 
changed,  her  life's  duty  had  taken  a  prac 
tical  shape;  she  had  to  earn  her  bread, 
and  help  Lil  to  earn  hers;  she  was  tho 
roughly  in  earnest  and  if  hard  work,  and 
an  eager  desire  to  do  her  best,  could  make 
of  her  little  school  a  model  school,  these 
should  not  be  wanting.  She  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  long  lessons  learned 
parrot-like ;  as  far  as  she  knew  how,  she 
would  teach  on  the  German  system. 
She  talked  of  her  plans  and  hopes  to  her 
sister,  eagerly,  enthusiastically,  until  Lil, 
really  interested,  forgot  all  her  fears  of 
ghosts  and  burglars. 

Unfortunately  Martha  made  the  mistake 
at  starting,  of  treating  her  pupils,  who 
were  for  the  most  part  children  of  ten  or 


134  STOEM-DRIVEN. 

twelve,  like  reasonable  beings,  capable  of 
following  and  understanding  her  explana 
tions.      It    was    she  who  was  to  do  the 
work ;  she  put  aside  all  grammars,  all  geo 
graphies  ;  she  talked  unceasingly,  until  her 
throat  ached,  she  endeavoured  to  mix  the 
agreeable  with  the  useful,  to  fix  an  his 
torical  fact  by  an  anecdote,  a  grammatical 
rule,  by  many  and  varied  examples.     She 
made  no  regular  division  of  classes,  gave 
no  long  and  tedious  lessons  to  learn  by 
heart,  so  that  the  children's  former  notions 
of  the  meaning  of    school,  were  entirely 
overturned.     A  few,  bright  and  quick,  as 
American  children  often  are,  took  readily 
to  this  new  method  of  learning,  and  by 
their  questions  interested  Martha  greatly. 
But  these  were  the  exceptions,  and    not 
unnaturally  Martha,  almost  unconsciously, 
gave  them  all  her  attention,  greatly  neglect- 


WORK.  135 

ing  the  others :  these,  finding  they  were 
not  closely  watched,  spent  their  time  in 
throwing  paper  balls  at  each  other. 

Among  these  last  were  Mrs.  Brown's 
two  daughters.  The  first  day  their  mother 
questioned  them  about  their  new  school, 
asked  to  see  their  books  and  the  lessons 
they  were  to  learn  for  the  next  morning. 
When  she  heard  that  there  were  none  to  be 
learned,  and  that  Miss  Temple  had  spent  all 
the  class-time  talking  about  all  sorts  of 
things  to  Mary  and  Kate  Irving,  Mrs. 
Brown's  indignation  knew  no  bounds  ;  she 
felt  that  she  was  being  cheated ;  that  even 
the  reduced  price  which  she  had  consented 
to  pay  was  not  being  honestly  earned.  In 
a  round  of  visits  she  made,  the  new  school 
formed  the  principal  subject  of  her  talk. 
Thus,  from  the  very  beginning,  Martha,  in 
spite  of  her  earnest  desire  to  do  her  best, 


136  STORM-DRIVEN. 

because  of  that  desire  indeed,  had  taken  the 
first  step  towards  failure.  "  Miss  Temple 
has  theories,"  was  repeated  from  one  to 
another,  the  accusation  was  a  vague  one, 
but  not  the  less  terrible  for  that ;  people 
who  have  no  particular  ideas  of  their  own, 
do  not  pardon  others  for  having  brains 
otherwise  constituted. 

LiPs  share  of  work  in  the  school  was 
insignificant;  indeed  Martha  really  did 
not  need  her  help  at  all.  Her  conscience 
was  at  rest  however,  for  every  afternoon 
she  went  to  her  own  unruly  little  pupils, 
and  did  her  best  to  keep  them  in  order, 
and  even  to  win  their  affections.  But  each 
day  this  life  of  drudgery  grew  harder  to 
bear;  she  had  not  Martha's  energy  and 
natural  love  of  work  to  keep  her  up ;  to 
her,  drudgery  was  drudgery,  and  nothing 
else.  She  loved  what  was  beautiful,  and 


WORK.  137 

their  schoolroom  was  hideous ;  she  craved 
the  happiness  which  had  for  so  many  years 
seemed  to  be  her  rightful  portion,  and  her 
present  life  was  very  dreary ;  she  wondered 
at  her  sister's  cheerfulness.  Comparing 
her  own  listlessness  to  it,  she  judged  her 
self  even  more  harshly  than  others  judged 
her— and  that  was  not  saying  little.  At 
least,  she  imposed  silence  to  her  repinings, 
she  did  her  best,  poor  child  !  to  interest 
herself  in  the  school,  in  the  German 
method;  to  answer  Martha's  eager  talk; 
to  smile,  even  when  her  eyes  were  full  of 
tears ;  but  she  did  all  this  with  such  ap 
parent  effort,  that  it  was  more  painful  to 
witness,  than  if  she  had  frankly  given  way 
to  her  feelings. 

John  Bruce  had  not  deserted  them,  he 
had  held  out  a  friendly  hand  to  them ; 
why  was  he  the  only  one  to  have  done 


138  STOEM-DRIVEN. 

this?  This  thought  would  intrude  itself 
on  her,  over  and  over  again ;  she  turned 
from  it,  and  it  pursued  her;  she  despised  her 
self  for  not  conquering  it,  but  her  contempt 
helped  but  to  make  her  more  unhappy. 

Had  Mr.  Ward  left  the  city  ?  She  did 
not  know.  No  one  ever  mentioned  him ; 
the  few  visitors  who  found  them  out  in 
their  poor  refuge  were,  for  the  most  part, 
not  his  friends;  those  who  did  know  him 
never  even  mentioned  his  name. 

Did  those  people  fancy  she  was  in  love 
with  Leigh  Ward  ?  and  did  they  pity  her 
because  she  was  abandoned  ?  Her  pride 
revolted  at  this,  and  made  her  seem  cold 
and  stiff,  so  that  the  visits  were  not 
repeated.  Even  the  thought  of  the  beau 
tiful  flowers  could  not  now  console  her. 

One  afternoon  towards  the  latter  part  of 
February,  Lil  was  returning  from  her  daily 


WOKK.  139 

work,  more  tired  and  dispirited  even  than 
usual.  There  had  been  a  sudden  thaw; 
the  snow  which  had  fallen  heavily  a  few 
days  before,  was  now  in  that  stage  of  melt 
ing  which  makes  walking  a  most  disagree 
able  operation.  Lil  usually  chose  out-of-the- 
way  streets,  so  as  to  avoid  meetings  which 
were  always  distressing  to  her ;  but  on  this 
particular  day  she  went  along  a  fashion 
able  avenue  where  the  walking  was  a  little 
less  atrocious  than  elsewhere ;  it  was  not 
a  day,  she  thought,  which  fine  people  would 
choose  for  either  walking  or  driving.  She 
trudged  along  as  best  she  could,  a  parcel  of 
books  and  music  under  her  arm,  an  um 
brella  in  her  hand,  and  a  waterproof  cloak 
covering  her  dress  in  that  ungraceful  way 
proper  to  waterproofs. 

Suddenly  she  stopped  quite  still;  as  she 
lifted  her  eyes,  which  till  then  she  had  kept 


140  STORM-DRIVEN. 

fixed  on  the  dirty  ground,  she  saw  Leigh 
Ward  on  horseback,  talking  to  some  ladies 
in  a  carriage.  It  was  the  sound  of  his 
laugh  which  had  caused  her  to  look  up ;  at 
that  moment  their  eyes  met ;  the  young 
rnan  changed  colour,  looked  embarrassed, 
then  lifted  his  hat,  and  quickly  bent  down 
to  resume  his  conversation.  Lil  did  not 
return  his  salute ;  her  principal  feeling  was 
anger  with  herself  for  having  stopped,  and 
in  that  way  having  attracted  his  attention. 
Then,  after  the  first  moment,  there  came  a 
great  bitterness ;  what  was  there  in  com 
mon  between  her,  the  poor  little  daily 
governess,  ill-dressed,  mud-stained,  and 
that  fine  gentleman  on  his  well-groomed 
horse  ?  She  now  belonged  to  a  world 
which  was  not  his ;  she  said  to  herself  that 
henceforth  she  would  take  her  place  honestly 
and  frankly  in  that  world ;  among  the 


WORK.  141 

workers,  whose  chief  aim  in  life  is  to  earn 
their  daily  bread.  She  entered  the  school 
room  with  a  firm  step,  and  head  proudly 
erect ;  but  Martha  had  gone  out,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  keep  up  the  heroic  mood  very 
long  when  one  is  quite  alone ;  besides,  Lil, 
in  spite  of  her  resolutions  had  an  aching 
longing  to  cry.  This  she  did  not  allow 
herself  to  do,  but  she  went  to  her  room, 
took  off  her  hated  waterproof,  and  then 
sat  down  in  front  of  her  toilet-mirror.  She 
looked  at  herself  long  and  attentively ;  at 
last  she  said  half -aloud, — 

"  Mrs.  Cox  was  right,  all  black  is  hor 
ribly  unbecoming  to  me  !  " 


142 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A    LITERARY    VENTURE. 

"  LESS  zeal, my  dear!"  Mrs.  Richards  would 
say  to  Martha,  as  it  became  more  and  more 
evident  that  success  shunned  the  humble 
schoolroom.  "You  are  wearing  yourself 
out  for  nothing,  worse  than  nothing.  Re 
member  that  as  a  rule,  what  people  like  best 
is  mediocrity;  a  good  honest  plodding 
mediocrity.  They  do  not  like  to  eat  their 
porridge  too  hot.  If  Mrs.  Brown  and  her 
friends  read  poetry — which  they  never  do, 
— they  would  prefer  Southey  to  Shak- 
speare ;  if  they  could  tell  one  picture  from 


A    LITEEAEY   VENTURE.  143 

another — which  of  course  they  cannot — they 
would  go  into  ecstasies  over  Carlo  Dolci 
and  turn  their  backs  on  Michael  Angelo." 

"  But,  dear  Mrs.  Kichards,"  answered 
Martha,  laughing;  "I  find  no  likeness 
whatever  between  myself,  and  my  method 
of  teaching,  and  either  Shakspeare  or 
Michael  Angelo.  I  am  simply  an  honest 
girl,  trying  honestly  to  do  her  best." 

"  Precisely !  the  thing  is,  not  to  do  your 
best,  because  your  best  is  too  good  for 
those  who  employ  you.  After  all,  your 
purpose  is  to  earn  your  livelihood,  not  to 
reform  the  world.  Study  the  weaknesses  of 
those  whom  you  need,  and  play  on  them. 
You  look  shocked  at  my  plain  speaking ; 
when  I  was  your  age,  I  also  started  in  life 
with  the  idea  of  doing  my  best,  of  putting 
my  shoulder  to  the  wheel;  the  only  result 
I  obtained  was,  that  my  shoulder  was 


144  STORM-DRIVEN. 

bruised  and  the  wheel  never  stirred  an 
inch ;  so  now  I  let  things  pass.  I  rebel 
sometimes,  but  more  often  I  laugh.  That 
is  what  you  must  do.  Try  a  little  honest 
mediocrity,  and  you  will  see  its  good  effects 
at  once." 

But  Martha  was  not  willing  to  try  it ; 
she  not  only  worked  hard  in  class -hours, 
but  when  the  children  had  left,  she  read  and 
studied,  doing  her  best  to  fill  up  the  defi 
ciencies  in  her  own  education,  of  which  she 
was  sensitively  conscious.  All  this  earnest 
ness  and  good- will  could  not  but  bear  some 
fruit;  the  more  intelligent  among  her 
pupils  made  rapid  progress,  and  these 
would  battle  for  their  teacher  with  all 
the  enthusiasm  of  that  age;  they  grew 
very  fond  of  her,  and  their  parents  natu 
rally  also  took  up  her  cause  warmly ;  so 
before  long,  the  little  school,  like  many 


A    LITERARY    VENTURE.  145 

another  more  important  assembly,  was  di 
vided  into  two  camps — the  Conformists  and 
the  Nonconformists  :  the  disputes  between 
these  two  camps  were  sometimes  so  warm, 
that  Martha  had  great  difficulty  in  main 
taining  anything  like  discipline.  This  life 
was  wearing  her  out,  and  besides,  she  was 
too  clear-sighted  not  to  see  that  all  her 
efforts  would  not  suffice  to  insure  ultimate 
success ;  the  malcontents  were  in  decided 
majority. 

On  one  occasion  Susie  Brown,  the  oldest 
and  most  unruly  of  the  children,  asked  her 
the  date  of  the  battle  of  Agincourt.  Martha 
had  a  bad  memory  for  dates,  and  confessed 
that  she  had  forgotten  this  one  ;  promising, 
however,  to  read  up  all  the  details  of  the 
battle  for  her  next  day's  class. 

"  Some  people  had  better  go  to  school 
again  themselves,  before  attempting  to 

VOL  i.  L 


146  STORM-DKIVEN. 

teach  others,"  was  the  comment  of  Mrs. 
Brown. 

Miss  Temple's  real  inefficiency  from  that 
day  became  an  undoubted  fact,  and  people 
shook  their  heads,  saying  that  it  was  very 
well  to  try  and  help  needy  young  women ; 
but  that  really  the  education  of  children 
was  too  serious  a  thing  to  be  trifled  with, 
and  that  charity  began  at  home. 

"  That  is  all  the  attention  you  paid  to 
my  preaching  on  that  very  subject !  "  ex 
claimed  Mrs.  Richards,  who  heard  the 
rumours,  and  immediately  hurried  off  to 
see  Martha.  "  Why,  if  Susie  Brown  had 
asked  me  who  was  king  of  the  moon 
at  the  present  moment,  I  should  have 
answered  Lunatic  the  XXIX.  without  a 
moment's  hesitation  !  " 

Martha  would  willingly  have  kept  all 
her  anxieties,  her  fears  for  the  future,  to 


A   LITERARY   VENTURE.  147 

herself,  but  there  had  come  a  change  in 
Lil.  All  her  listlessness  was  gone ;  a  fever 
of  work  had  come  in  its  place.  There  was 
not  much  for  her  to  do  in  the  schoolroom, 
so  she  turned  her  new  activity  to  reforms 
which  had,  in  very  truth,  grown  urgent;  she 
forced  Martha  to  explain  to  her  the  exact 
state  of  their  finances,  an  investigation 
which  proved  to  be  far  from  reassuring. 
The  sisters  looked  at  each  other  rather 
blankly,  for  quarter-day  was  coming  fast  on 
them,  and  there  was  not  money  enough  to 
pay  the  rent.  They  must  retrench,  they 
must  live  more  poorly  still.  It  was  Lil 
who  took  the  initiative  in  this.  Martha 
had  for  a  long  time  past  felt  the  necessity 
of  extreme  economy,  but  habits  of  extra 
vagance  are  not  conquered  in  a  day,  nor  in 
three  months  either,  and  besides,  she  had 
shrunk  from  imposing  privations  on  her 
L  2 


148  STORM-DRIVEN. 

sister — privations  which  she  herself  would 
have  borne  with  cheerful  philosophy  ;  she 
was  therefore  as  much  pleased  as  surprised 
at  Lil's  attitude.  They  had  till  then  had  a 
woman  a  few  hours  a-day  to  clean  the 
rooms  and  cook  their  dinner.  Lil  insisted 
that  this  work,  light  enough  certainly,  was 
to  be  her  department;  she  took  to  sweep 
ing,  dusting,  and  cooking  with  stern  reso 
lution.  Martha  smiled  at  the  clouds  of 
dust  she  raised,  and  at  the  mutton-chops 
she  burnt  in  her  attempts  at  cooking. 

"  My  poor  Lil !  "  she  would  say,  "  when 
we  used  to  play  duetts  together,  you  al 
ways  would  begin  the  crescendo  three  mea 
sures  before  it  was  marked;  you  never 
could  understand  that  a  composer  should 
ever  wish  for  a  moderato  —  do  try  the 
moderate  now,  you  will  find  that  it  will 


answer." 


A   LITEEAET   VENTURE.  149 

If  Martha  understood  what  was  the 
secret  motive  of  her  sister's  excess  of  zeal, 
she  never  alluded  to  it,  she  made  light  of 
her  repeated  culinary  mishaps,  and  only 
laughed  at  her  eccentric  notions  of 
enonomy ;  it  took  the  young  housekeeper 
no  little  time  to  discover  that  new  green 
peas  were  luxuries,  and  that  bought  pastry 
was  not  the  least  expensive  of  desserts. 
When  she  at  last  made  that  important 
discovery,  she  reduced  the  daily  meals  to 
the  simplest  possible  form,  alternating 
mutton-chops  and  beefsteaks  with  mathe 
matical  precision,  and  adding  to  these 
delicacies  a  few  potatoes — nothing  more. 
Her  economy  grew  to  be  a  virtue  of  the 
Roman  type ;  sometimes  Martha  had  laugh 
ingly  to  plead  for  a  portion  just  a  trifle 
larger.  But  these  reforms  did  not  satisfy 
Lil's  new  energy.  She  felt  that  it  was  Martha 


1 50  STORM-DRIVEN. 

who  really  bore  the  heaviness  of  the  burden 
on  her  own  shoulders,  and  that  was  not  just. 
She  thought  over  all  her  accomplishments, 
wondering  which  of  them  could  be  turned 
to  some  practical  account. 

Suddenly  an  inspiration  came  to  her  !  at 
school,  she  had  manifested  a  certain  taste 
for  writing;  indeed,  she  had  always  been 
looked  upon,  by  her  companions,  as  some 
thing  of  a  genius.  She  had  a  facility  which 
enabled  her  to  do  a  little  of  everything ;  she 
could  versify  with  alarming  ease,  and 
turned  to  prose  with  equal  readiness.  She 
once  began  a  poem  in  blank- verse,  which, 
however,  never  got  much  beyond  the  invo 
cation  to  the  muses ;  this  great  and  solemn 
work  was  broken  in  upon  by  the  composi 
tion  of  a  farce  innocently  facetious,  which 
was  acted  with  great  success  in  the  school- 
hall.  Since  leaving  the  convent,  it  is  true, 
she  had  never  thought  of  pursuing  her 


A    LITERARY   VENTURE.  151 

literary  career,  but  now  the  time  had  come 
to  utilize  her  talent.  Her  dreams  of 
ambition  did  not  take  too  high  a  flight, 
what  she  sought  was  not  so  much  fame  as 
profit ;  she  had  heard  of  women  who  earned 
a  very  comfortable  living  by  writing ;  she 
had  read  their  effusions,  and  had  judged 
them  to  be,  what  indeed  they  really  were, 
rather  inferior  productions.  She  had  no 
very  exalted  idea  of  her  own  ability,  but — 
thought  she — at  least  I  can  write  as  well 
as  they ;  so,  full  of  courage,  she  resolved  to 
try. 

But  in  order  to  write,  one  must  have 
something  to  write  about.  For  some  days 
Lil  hunted  after  an  idea. 

For  a  magazine  she  could  write  neither 
an  imitation  of"  Paradise  Lost,' '  nor  a  farce ; 
at  last  she  determined  to  write  a  legend — a 
legend  of  the  Rhine.  It  is  true  that  she 
had  never  seen  the  Rhine,  and  that  her  life 


152  STOEM-DBJVEN. 

had  not  been  such  as  to  develope  in  her  any 
vivid  notion  of  what  constituted  the  weird 
or   mysterious.      But   one   cannot   always 
choose  one's  subject ;  an  inspiration  rejected 
does  not  always  engender  another  inspira 
tion,  and  after  all,  if  she  had  never  been  in 
Germany,  she  had  at  least  read  a  book  on 
German   folk-lore.       Besides,    the   subject 
tempted    her;    like    most    young   writers 
afflicted  with  facility,  images  crowded  her 
prose,  and  hyperboles  cantered  between  the 
lines.      Her  teacher,   who  believed   in  an 
ornate   and   florid    style,    as    being   most 
calculated  to  give  brilliancy  to  school-com 
positions,  had  encouraged  this  propensity, 
and  surely  a  highly-coloured  style   must 
suit  a  subject  like  the  proposed  legend  of 
the  Rhine  ?   Mrs.  Richards,  if  she  had  been 
consulted,  would  have  advised  the  young 
writer  to  choose  instead  the  baldest  subject 


A   LITEEAEY    VENTURE.  153 

she  could  find  in  real  life,  to  strip  it  of  all 
the  romance  (which  in  real  life  will  intrude 
itself  even  in  the  baldest  incidents),  treat  it 
in  a  style  nearly  allied  to  that  of  a  ledger, 
put  in  it  as  many  figures  as  possible,  and 
then  send  it  to  the  editor  of  a  first-class 
magazine ;  such  a  story  might  have  some 
chance  of  being  accepted.  As  to  imagina 
tion,  it  was  out  of  fashion ;  no  one  wanted 
it.  But  Lil  did  not  consult  Mrs.  Richards ; 
she  was  shy  of  her  new  project,  she  did  not 
speak  of  it  even  to  Martha,  until  the  story 
was  nearly  finished.  Martha,  indeed, 
suspected  something  of  the  kind  from  the 
unusual  quantity  of  foolscap-paper  which 
disappeared,  but  she  said  nothing.  When 
at  last,  Lil,  a  little  nervously,  confessed  her 
authorship,  she  was  all  enthusiasm,  and 
listened  with  great  interest  to  the  reading 
of  the  story.  Martha  herself  had  never 


1 54  STOBM-DRIVEN. 

been  brilliant  as  a  writer,  and  honestly 
admired  her  sister's  talent;  she  heartily 
congratulated  her,  as  Lil  dropped  her  voice 
mysteriously  at  the  close  of  the  last 
paragraph,  which  paragraph  was  indeed  a 
very  remarkable  climax  of  choice  horrors. 
Then  the  two  sisters  fell  to  talking  com 
fortably  over  Lil's  golden  dreams. 

"  You  really  think  it  is  not  too  bad?" 
"  Bad    indeed !     I    should    like   to   see 
Miss  Tompkins  who  writes  for  the  ( Oceanic ' 
do  half  as  well!" 

"Oh!"  said  Lil,  with  an  immense  sigh 
of  satisfaction ;  "  and  Miss  Tompkins,  they 
say,  makes  quite  a  good  income,  with  her 
stories  and  novels.  Perhaps  I  shall  write 
novels  too  some  day ;  it  is  not  difficult  to 
be  an  author,  I  assure  you,  Martha.  You 
just  have  to  get  an  idea,  and  then  let  your  pen 
run  on.  The  important  thing,  they  say,  is 


A   LITERARY    VENTURE.  155 

to  get  a  good  publisher;  I  shall  be  very 
careful  in  my  choice  of  one.  I  have  heard 
that  some  of  the  greatest  firms  behave 
very  shabbily  to  authors,  especially  to 
beginners." 

"  I  suppose  one  does  not  earn  much  at 
first/'  said  Martha,  feeling  that  it  would 
not  do  to  let  Lil  count  too  much  on 
immediate  success. 

"  I  suppose  not,"  replied  Lil;  "  to  begin 
with,  I  shall  accept  anything,  of  course; 
but  when  I  get  well  started,  we  will  leave 
this  horrid  place,  and  have  nothing  more 
to  do  with  Mrs.  Brown;  we  will  hire  a 
nice  little  house,  with  a  large  room  in  it : 
there  you  can  have  a  class  of  French, 
nothing  but  French,  for  big  girls  who  just 
want  practice;  you  can  have  them  in  the 
evening  too,  once  a-week,  say,  for  conver 
sation.  A  sort  of  party,  you  know,  with 


156  STORM-DRIVEN. 

tea  and  cake,  it  would  be  sure  to  be  popular, 
especially  if  you  allow  a  little  dancing  to 
end  up  with.  That,  and  my  writing  would 
make  us  quite  rich ;  in  time  we  should  build 
a  house  for  ourselves,  and — " 

There  is  no  telling  how  far  Lil's  ambitious 
ideas  would  have  carried  her,  had  not 
Martha  broken  in  upon  her  golden  dreams 
with  a  hearty  laugh. 

"  Have  you  forgotten,"  she  said,  as  soon 
as  she  could  speak,  "a  certain  fable, 
called  "  Perrette  et  le  pot  au  lait "? 

But  Lil  was  not  to  be  laughed  out  of 
her  pleasant  dream ;  she  clung  to  it,  she 
felt  that  in  it  there  was  a  refuge  from 
other  day-dreams  which  she  was  trying  her 
best  to  banish. 

She  worked  hard,  correcting,  pruning, 
adding  to  her  little  story,  until  she  looked 
upon  it,  not  as  a  work  of  genius,  for  Lil 


A   LITERARY   VENTURE.  157 

was  a  sensible  girl,  but  certainly  as  not 
inferior  to  the  mass  of  stories  published 
every  month  in  the  magazines — in  which 
she  was  not  far  wrong.  At  last, 
mysteriously,  with  a  beating  heart,  looking 
nervously  about  her,  for  fear  of  being 
surprised  in  the  act,  she  dropped  her 
manuscript,  duly  addressed  and  stamped, 
in  the  letter-box  of  the  big  post-office. 
She  stood  still  an  instant,  wondering  that 
the  neat  bundle  which  contained  so  many 
of  her  hopes  and  fears,  should  slip  in  as 
easily  as  though  it  had  been  a  mere 
business  letter. 

"  I  suppose  I  ought  not  to  expect  an 
answer  for  two  weeks — perhaps,  indeed,  for 
three." 

"  I  suppose  not,"  answered  Martha, 
looking  at  her  sister's  face,  with  the  com 
passion  of  superior  experience. 


158  STORM-DRIVEN. 

Once  started,  Lil  was  too  truly  American, 
too  spirited,  to  rest.  She  immediately 
began  another  story,  intending  to  bestow  it 
on  another  first-class  publication.  She 
never  dreamed  of  course  of  writing  for  any 
but  first-class  publications.  This  time  she 
left  the  regions  of  weirdness  and  mystery, 
to  enter  those  of  history  and  grand  dramatic 
passions.  She  chose  an  episode  of  the 
French  Revolution,  in  which,  as  it  may  not 
be  difficult  to  imagine,  a  daughter  of  the 
people  loves  and  saves  a  youth  of  the  very 
highest  nobility.  She  knew,  it  is  true,  as 
little  of  France  as  she  did  of  Germany ;  her 
notion  of  the  revolution  was  taken  from  the 
mildest  of  histories,  which  solved  the  vexed 
and  perplexed  questions  of  that  period  by 
the  simplest  of  means,  that  is,  by  the 
placing  of  all  virtues,  graces,  and  nobility 
of  sentiment  on  the  side  of  the  victims;  and 


A   LITERARY   VENTURE.  159 

all  manner  of  horrible  wickedness  and  evil 
intentions,  on  the  side  of  the  conquerors. 

One  afternoon,  Lil  was  alone  in  the 
schoolroom;  it  was  a  half-holida}^  and 
Martha  had  gone  out.  The  young  autho 
ress  was  greatly  excited  over  her  writing ; 
she  was  in  the  midst  of  the  volcanic  loves 
of  Octave  and  Marie,  and  she  had  so 
thoroughly  identified  herself  with  her 
heroine  that  she  was,  at  that  moment,  as  far 
away  from  Lakeville  as  though  in  reality 
she  had  been  transported  to  the  time  and 
place  about  which  she  was  writing.  She 
was  suddenly  brought  back  to  real  life, 
by  a  knock  at  the  door ;  she  hesitated  an 
instant,  then  with  a  little  shrug  of  the 
shoulder,  learned  probably  from  her 
French  heroine,  she  resumed  her  work.  If 
the  intruder  had  come  on  some  important 
errand,  the  knock  would  be  repeated;  if 


160  STORM-DRIVEN. 

not,  why  then  she  could  go  on  scribbling 
with  a  light  conscience.  The  knock  was 
repeated ;  this  time  Lil  called  out,  "  Come 
in,"  with  no  very  inviting  inflection  of  the 
voice,  and  at  the  same  time  she  hastily 
stowed  away  her  manuscript  in  her  desk. 

"  Better  late  than  never  !  "  exclaimed  a 
high  young  voice,  as  the  door  was  flung 
wide  open.  The  intruder  was  a  young 
lady  rejoicing  in  the  poetic  Christian  name 
of  Lydia,  and  the  unpoetical  family  name 
of  Briggs.  She  was  showily  dressed  in  a 
light  spring  suit;  her  beauty — for  she  was 
considered  a  beauty — was  also  of  a  showy 
kind  :  there  was  nothing  subdued  about 
her,  either  in  manner  or  voice ;  there  was 
even  something  aggressive  in  the  sharp  click 
of  her  high  heels.  She  was  just  Lil's  age, 
and  they  had  known  each  other  since 
childhood,  without  ever  becoming  friends. 


A   LITEKAftY   VENTURE.  161 

Miss  Lydia  was  queen  of  one  set,  while  Lil 
had  been  the  centre  of  another ;  there  had 
always  been  rivalry  and  mistrust  between 
the  two.  On  Lil's  part,  the  rivalry  had 
never  taken  an  active  form ;  but  it  was  not 
so  with  Miss  Lydia,  for  hers  was  a  com 
bative  nature.  When  Mr.  Ward  had  for 
the  first  time  made  his  appearance  in  Lake- 
ville  society,  creating  therein  a  great  stir, 
she  had  marked  him  out  for  herself;  but 
he  was  a  man  of  tastes  too  refined  to  care 
much  for  the  somewhat  vulgar  charms  of 
the  belle;  he  disapproved  of  the  pearl- 
powder  she  used  with  great  lavishness,  he 
disapproved  of  her  flashy  taste  in  dress, 
of  her  familiarity  with  yourig  men,  of  her 
metallic  voice  most  of  all ;  he  found  in  her 
a  type  he  had  met  too  often  "  doing 
Europe,"  and  he  resented  the  impression 
produced  by  such  girls  on  Europeans,  who, 
VOL.  i.  M 


162  STORM-DRIVEN. 

taking  them  as  specimens,  judged  the 
rest  of  the  nation  accordingly. 

Miss  Briggs  never  forgave  Lil  for 
having,  without  effort,  obtained  what  she, 
in  spite  of  very  open  flirting,  had  failed  to 
win.  She,  like  many  others,  had  watched 
Mr.  Ward  closely  after  the  "  Temple  dis 
aster,' *  and  she  had  not  been  able  to  hide 
the  satisfaction  she  felt  at  his  evident 
desertion. 

Lil  rose  to  meet  her  unexpected  and  un 
welcome  visitor ;  instinctively  she  nerved 
herself  for  a  conflict,  and  resolved  not  to 
give  the  enemy  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  slightest  sign  of  emotion  or  vexation. 

"  What  an  odd  place  !  "  exclaimed  Miss 
Briggs,  with  that  frankness  of  which  she 
boasted  as  of  a  virtue. 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?"  inquired  Lil  with 
grave  surprise,  looking  about  her  as 


A   LITEEAET   VENTURE.  163 

though  the  idea  had  never  presented  itself 
to  her  mind.  "But  then,  as  I  presume 
you  do  not  intend  to  come  to  school  to 


us— " 


"  Supposing  I  did  mean  something  of 
the  sort  ?"  Miss  Lydia  laughed  as  though 
she  had  proved  herself  to  be  very  witty ; 
she  was  in  the  best  spirits,  too  much  so  to 
take  offence  at  what  might  have  seemed 
an  allusion  to  her  known  contempt  for 
what  she  called  "  book-learning.JJ 

"  I  do  not  quite  understand,"  said  Lil, 
still  quite  grave. 

The  young  lady  explained  that  she  was 
to  spend  the  following  winter  in  Washing 
ton,  where  she  expected  to  be  very  much 
in  the  diplomatic  circle.  It  had  happened 
that  once,  she  had  found  herself  in  the 
society  of  several  foreigners,  and  that  she 
had  innocently  shown  the  most  entire 
M  2 


164  STORM-DEI  YEN. 

ignorance  of  the  history  and  literature  of 
their  respective  countries. 

"  You  see,  I  never  had  time  to  do  much 
reading ;  then,  between  ourselves,  reading 
is  a  bore — even  novels.  But  after  all,  one 
must  not  appear  ignorant  when  such  things 
are  talked  about.  What  I  want  you  to  do 
is,  to  look  over  the  boxes  of  books  I  have 
just  had  sent  me  from  New  York,  and  to 
tell  me  in  a  few  words  what  they  are  about ; 
what  I  must  admire,  and  what  I  must  pre 
tend  not  to  have  read,  for  propriety's  sake, 
you  know.  Then  you  must  tell  me  about 
the  authors,  teach  me  their  names  and 
something  about  them;  make  that  a  real 
lesson — you  understand  ?  "  Then,  as  Lil, 
who  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  proposi 
tion,  hesitated,  she  added,  "  Of  course  I 
should  pay  you  well." 

"  Thanks,"  answered  Lil  coldly;  "  I  am 


A    LITEEAEY   VENTUEE.  165 

not  at  all  the  person  you  need.  Besides, 
among  those  books  which  you  have  ordered 
by  wholesale,  there  are  probably  many 
which  it  would  be  very  unpleasant  for  me 
to  read." 

"  Oh  !  as  to  that,  teachers  are  bound  to 
know  lots  of  things  which  girls  in  society 
are  supposed  never  to  have  heard  about." 

Lil  had  promised  herself  to  be  very  calm, 
and  she  succeeded.  After  all,  the  imperti 
nence  of  a  Lydia  Briggs  mattered  but  little. 
The  young  lady  herself  appeared  quite  un 
conscious  that  her  frankness  might  be  dis 
pleasing  ;  she  continued  chattering  with 
perfect  cheerfulness. 

"  If  you  will  not,  why,  there's  an  end  of 
it.  I  am  sorry;  I  should  have  liked  to 
have  done  something  for  you.  Then  it 
would  have  been  nice  to  see  you  regularly  ; 
we  might  have  talked  over  old  times  com- 


166  STORM  -DRIVEN. 

fortably.  Why  do  you  not  ask  me  about 
people  ?  Are  you  not  interested  in  know 
ing  who  is  engaged,  or  who  has  flirted,  and 
who  is  married,  among  the  girls  ? 

"  I  am  as  little  interested  in  my  old 
acquaintances,  as  they  in  me." 

"  I  expected  something  of  this  sort. 
They  say  that  people  who  have  reverses  of 
fortune  are  always  cross  and  bitter.  After 
all,  you  know,  one  has  no  time  to  run  after 
those  who  are  no  longer  of  one's  set.  I, 
for  instance,  have  wanted  a  hundred  times 
to  come  and  see  you,  but — " 

"  So  as  to  describe  our  c  odd  place '  to 
your  friends  ?  Thank  you." 

"  If  you  usually  receive  people  like  this, 
it  is  no  wonder  they  do  not  return.  For 
tunately,  I  am  the  best-natured  girl  in  the 
world !  I  meant  to  have  a  good  chat  with 
you,  and  I  mean  to  have  it  still.  By  the 


A   LITERACY    VENTURE.  167 

way,  what  a  dreadful  flirt  your  old  admirer 
Leigh  Ward  is  !  " 

"  Indeed ! "  retorted  Lil,  looking  so 
composed  that  her  friend  was  actually 
provoked. 

"  That  he  is  1  He  left  town  two  days 
ago ;  did  he  come  and  say  good-bye  ?  He 
was  to  have  gone  earlier,  but  he  found 
Lakeville  very  attractive.  Between  our 
selves,  though  he  certainly  is  very  hand 
some  and  fascinating,  no  sensible  girl 
would  ever  trust  her  happiness  to  him ! 
They  say — you  have  heard  the  report,  I  am 
sure — that — that  he  proposed  to  me,  and 
was  refused.  I  am  not  quite  sure  that 
there  is  not  some  truth  in  the  report." 

"  I  am,"  said  Lil  quickly.  The  two 
girls  looked  at  each  other,  and  it  was 
Lydia  who  lowered  her  eyes  first.  She 
was  very  angry,  and  immediately  after 


168  STORM-DRIVEN. 

took  her  leave.  When  she  had  gone,  Lil 
tried  to  resume  her  writing,  but  the  loves  of 
Octave  and  Marie,  which  had  so  interested 
her  an  hour  before,  now  seemed  tame  and 
unreal.  The  next  day,  however,  she  went 
to  work,  with  even  more  energy  than 
before. 

The  two  weeks  passed;  then  the  third 
slowly  wore  itself  away,  and  there  was  no 
answer  from  the  famous  New  York  editor. 

"  Very  likely  he  could  not  read  it  imme 
diately,"  said  Lil,  trying  to  look  cheerful ; 
but  she  no  longer  spoke  of  building  a  house 
with  the  products  of  her  pen.  She  finished 
her  French  story,  however,  and  it  was  so 
full  of  thrilling  incidents  that  Lil  felt  not 
a  little  proud  of  her  work ;  and  confident 
that  this  at  least  would  receive  prompt  and 
respectful  attention  from  the  editor  of  the 
Boston  periodical  for  which  it  was  destined. 


A   LITERARY   VENTURE.  169 

This  also  she  dropped  mysteriously,  and 
with  a  beating  heart,  in  the  letter-box, 
but  her  eyes  were  a  little  less  bright  than 
the  first  time,  and  her  step,  as  she  turned 
away,  a  little  less  proudly  elastic. 

The  weeks  passed  by ;  no  answer  came 
from  New  York  ;  none  either  from  Boston. 
Lil's  hopes  sank  lower  and  lower.  She  had 
not  the  heart  to  begin  a  third  story,  but 
watched  the  postman  with  anxious  eyes. 
At  last,  one  day,  there  was  something  for 
her;  it  was  a  yellow  businesslike  letter, 
with  the  name  of  the  well-known  Boston 
publishing  house  printed  on  the  envelope. 

"Oh,  Martha!"  said  Lil,  trembling, 
"  you  open  it ;  I  cannot." 

Martha  took  the  letter  and  read  it  aloud. 
It  was  a  refusal  of  the  stereotyped  kind. 
The  editor  politely  said  that,  notwithstand 
ing  the  decided  merit  of  Miss  Temple's 


170 


STOBM-D  RIVEN. 


story,  it  was  of  a  nature  which  would  not 
suit  their  purpose.  They  would  have  the 
honour  of  forwarding  the  manuscript  to 
the  author  if  she  desired  it. 

Lil  did  not  cry,  but  she  held  fast  to 
Martha's  hand,  feeling  very  desolate  indeed. 
There  was  not  much  brightness  in  the 
prospects  of  the  two  sisters  at  that  time, 
and  they  clung  to  each  other,  finding  their 
one  comfort  in  their  strong  undemonstrative 
love  for  each  other. 

"  I  am  so  glad  no  one  knows  of  it  but 
you,  Martha,"  said  poor  Lil;  "I  shall 
never  try  again." 


171 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FAILURE. 

THE  time  wore  on  slowly  and  painfully 
after  this.  At  first,  there  had  been  a  kind 
of  excitement  in  the  novelty  of  the  situa 
tion,  but  now  there  was  nothing  to  relieve 
the  dull  routine  of  each  day.  With  the 
inexperience  of  those  to  whom  all  things 
had  been  easy,  Martha  and  Lil  had  looked 
upon  earning  their  bread  as  an  operation 
which  merely  needed  a  little  good-will  and 
energy.  Neither  of  these  qualities  had 
been  wanting,  yet  it  grew  more  and  more 
evident  that  Mrs.  Richards  was  right,  and 
that  these  alone  were  not  sufficient.  When 


172  STORM-DRIVEN. 

quarter-day  came,  the  sisters  paid  half  of 
what  they  owed,  and  were  obliged  to  ask 
for  time  in  order  to  pay  the  rest.     This 
was  a  dreadful  mortification,  but  there  was 
no    alternative.      It   was   no    longer   like 
"playing   at   being   poor" — it   was    stern 
reality.    Lil  learned  what  it  was  to  examine 
her  half-worn  boots  with  tender  anxiety, 
and  to  trudge  through  all  sorts  of  weather, 
rather  than  spend  a  few  cents  for  horse-car 
fare.     Each  day  these  things  were  harder 
to  bear.      She  hated  poverty;    she  hated 
the  bare  ugliness  of  it,  and  rebelled  secretly 
against   her   fate.      She   tried   not   to   let 
Martha  see  that  she  rebelled,  but  her  pale 
face  and  dispirited  air  spoke  for  her.     Poor 
Lil  was  no  heroine  ;  she  had  found  courage 
and  energy  enough  to  make  real  efforts,  but 
she  could  not  find  resolution  enough  to  con 
tinue,  when  she  found  that  those  efforts  had 


FAILUEE.  173 

met  with  nothing  but  failure.  During  this 
time  she  was  often  bitter ;  it  seemed  as 
though  her  life  were  too  hard  to  be  endured. 
Active  suffering  would  have  found  her 
brave  enough,  but  the  dulness  of  poverty, 
the  sameness  of  each  day's  worries  and 
humiliations  irritated  her,  and  took  all  the 
freshness  of  youth  from  her  face. 

In  this  way  summer  came,  and  with  it 
the  long  holidays.  It  was  with  a  sigh  of 
relief  that  the  sisters  sat  down  in  the 
schoolroom,  when  the  door  had  closed  on 
the  pupils — a  sigh  of  relief,  even  though 
they  did  not  know  what  was  to  become  of 
them.  The  little  school,  in  spite  of  the 
staunch  championship  of  the  best  scholars, 
was  a  failure ;  these  were  but  three  or  four 
in  number,  and  to  think  of  struggling  on 
would  have  been  sheer  folly.  And  now, 
what  was  to  be  done  ? 


1 74  STORM-DRIVEN. 

The  problem  was  the  same  as  it  had 
been  six  months  before,  only  there  was  this 
difference  ; — a  first  venture  had  failed,  and 
there  was  now  less  help  to  be  expected 
from  friends  than  ever.  Their5 s  was  an 
old  story ;  they  had  ceased  to  be  the 
interest  of  the  moment.  Other  catas 
trophes  had  caused  their  misfortunes  to  be 
partly  forgotten;  but  their  need  was  as 
great  as  it  had  been — greater  indeed,  for 
they  were  in  debt.  By  dint  of  extreme 
economy,  the  first  quarter  had,  by  small 
instalments,  been  paid ;  but  a  second  was 
now  due,  and  the  small  sum  which  was  laid 
aside,  and  which  was  necessary  for  the 
daily  wants,  could  not  suffice  to  pay 
it.  Besides  this,  Mrs.  Richards,  who  had 
been  so  staunch  a  friend,  was  absent. 
Jessie  had  been  ill,  and  her  mother  had 
taken  her  into  the  country.  Martha  and 


FAILURE.  175 

Lil  had  therefore  but  themselves  to  look 
to.  They  had  but  few  relatives  in  the 
world,  and  these  were  almost  unknown  to 
the  sisters  ;  besides,  their  refusal  to  accept 
the  protection  of  the  Boston  aunt  had 
given  the  impression  to  the  other  members 
of  the  family  that  they  were  independent- 
minded  young  women,  quite  able  to  take 
care  of  themselves.  We  all  know  that 
such  a  conviction  is  very  soothing  to  the 
consciences  of  those  who  otherwise  might 
feel  bound  to  do  something  for  their  poor 
relations.  Independence  of  character  is  a 
highly-esteemed  virtue,  and  it  would  be  a 
shame  not  to  give  that  virtue  every  oppor 
tunity  of  exercising  itself. 

"  Let  us  leave  Lakeville,  and  go — no 
matter  where,"  Lil  would  say  now  and 
then ;  but  even  while  she  said  it,  she  knew 
that  this  could  not  be.  If  they  had  not 


1 76  STORM-DRIVEN. 

succeeded  in  a  place  where,  after  all,  they 
had  received  some  help  and  encouragement, 
what  would  become  of  them  in  some 
strange  city,  where  no  one  knew  them  ? 
But  the  mortification  of  remaining  in  a 
town  where  she  had  been  rich  and  pros 
perous,  of  meeting  people  whom  she  had 
formerly  known  as  equals,  was  becoming 
each  day  more  insupportable  to  the  young 
girl.  She  wanted  to  go  away,  to  hide  her 
self  in  a  place  where  she  would  not  so 
much  mind  being  shabbily  dressed,  wearing 
boots  that  had  been  mended,  and  soiled 
gloves.  All  these  things  were  petty  an 
noyances,  things  she  should  not  have 
minded ;  but  she  did  mind  them.  After  all, 
life  is  made  up  of  small  things. 

Martha  did  her  best  to  rouse  her  sister, 
to  instil  some  of  her  own  brave  spirit  into 
her. 


FAILURE.  177 

"  It  is  not  because  we  have  failed  once, 
that  we  should  fail  a  second  time,  "she  said, 
as  they  sat  by  the  open  window,  one  soft 
summer  evening. 

"We  have  even  less  chance  of  success 
than  ever,"  said  Lil  despondingly. 

"  Not  at  all ;  for  we  shall  begin  this 
time  as  we  ought  to  have  begun  at  first — 
by  putting  our  gentility  in  our  pockets." 

Lil  winced ;  she  did  not  want  to  put  her 
gentility  in  her  pocket. 

"  You  foolish  child  !  you  fancy  that  be 
cause  you  do  what  you  think  ladylike 
work,  you  have  not  gone  down  in  the  social 
scale.  If  you  think  it  over  a  little,  you 
will  understand  that  the  hand  which  gives 
money,  and  the  hand  which  receives  it, 
never  clasp  in  real  equality.  People  still 
speak  to  us,  do  they  not?  But  for  my 
part,  I  do  not  feel  much  elated  by  such 

VOL.  i.  N 


178  STORM-DRIVEN. 

condescension ;  it  does  not  feed  me,  nor 
clothe  me ;  neither  does  it,  that  I  can  see, 
give  me  any  society  advantages.  By  and 
by,  perhaps,  when  the  time  of  mourning 
is  over,  one  or  two  stray  invitations  may 
find  their  way  to  us;  because,  after  all, 
teachers  are  'received.'  If  by  ill  luck, 
tempted  by  the  memory  of  former  triumphs, 
you  accepted  such  invitations,  you  would 
come  back  to  me,  you  poor  child,  crushed 
and  wounded  !  You  would  have  discovered 
that  the  pretended  equality  accorded  to 
you  was  no  equality  at  all.  I,  for  my  part, 
do  not  think  such  gentility  is  worth  the 
price  we  should  pay  for  it." 

"  What  do  you  mean  that  we  should  do  ? 
go  out  as  servants  ?  I  am  afraid  I  should 
not  get  very  high  wages  as  cook,"  said  Lil, 
smiling  faintly  at  the  remembrance  of  her 
numerous  culinary  mishaps. 


EAILUEE.  179 

"  No,  not  that — as  yet,  at  any  rate.  If 
only  we  had  a  little  capital  to  start  with,  I 
should  propose  to  open  a  small  millinery 
establishment.  I  have  an  idea  that  my 
taste  for  bonnet-making — you  know  I 
always  took  my  hats  to  pieces,  so  as  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  doing  them  up  again — 
would  be  of  far  greater  use  than  all  my 
French  and  other  accomplishments.  People 
pay  far  more,  in  proportion,  to  have  the 
outside  of  the  head  decorated  than  the 
inside  filled." 

"  Keep  a  shop  ! "  exclaimed  Lil.  It 
seemed  to  her  very  dreadful  indeed.  She 
wondered  whether  Martha  did  not  guess 
the  secret  reason  which  made  her  dread 
any  irretrievable  going  down  of  the  social 
ladder.  She  herself  would  not  always  ac 
knowledge  this  secret  reason,  but,  in  spite 
of  her  best  efforts,  it  remained  firmly  fixed 
N  2 


180  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

in  its  hidden  corner.  Martha  had  never 
alluded  to  Leigh  Ward  since  the  dreadful 
night  after  the  ball ;  according  to  her,  he 
had  disappeared  from  their  lives  as  com 
pletely  as  the  yellow  satin  chairs,  the  jewels, 
the  fine  dresses.  Often  Lil  was  grateful  for 
this  delicate  reticence,  but  sometimes,  on 
the  contrary,  it  irritated  her.  How  could 
Martha,  who  did  not  know  what  she  was 
suffering,  understand  that  adversity  had  a 
double  meaning  to  her,  which  made  her 
worthy  of  all  pity  ?  But  Martha  did  un 
derstand  this  quite  well ;  she  had  forgotten 
nothing,  and  if  she  maintained  an  unbroken 
silence  on  the  subject,  it  was  because  she 
thought  silence  and  patient  waiting  the 
only  remedies  for  such  ills. 

This  was  a  difficult  time  for  both  sisters ; 
ordinary  occupations  were  interrupted ;  the 
long  warm  days  passed  heavily  by,  and 


FAILURE.  181 

each  of  these  days  brought  their  resources 
more  inevitably  near  their  end.  It  was  the 
dead  season,  and  work  of  any  sort  was 
almost  impossible  to  be  found.  It  was 
hard  to  be  cheerful  under  such  circum 
stances;  there  were  long  silences,  for  the 
two  could  not  look  at  things  from  the 
same  point  of  view.  In  spite  of  her  best 
efforts,  it  was  evident  that  Lil  considered 
her  sister's  resolution  to  take  work  where- 
ever  she  found  it,  as  being  among  the 
greatest  misfortunes  which  had  fallen  upon 
them. 

At  last  Martha  came  home  one  day  with 
a  bright  flush  on  her  cheeks,  and  a  look  in 
her  eyes  which  Lil  understood  perfectly. 
She  shrank  from  questioning  her  sister,  but 
yet  her  curiosity  was  strongly  aroused ;  at 
last,  unable  to  contain  herself  any  longer, 
ehe  said, — 


182  STOBM-DRIVEN. 

"  Well,  Martha,  you  had  better  tell  me 
at  once — is  it  general  house-work,  or  are  we 
to  take  in  washing  ?  " 

"  Not  quite  so  bad  as  that,"  answered 
Martha,  laughing.  "  "When  I  told  you  that 
my  taste  for  millinery  would  serve  me 
better  than  any  of  my  accomplishments,  I 
was  not  far  wrong  ;  only  my  first  idea  was 
too  ambitious  :  first  ideas  always  are.  Mrs. 
Taylor,  our  old  milliner,  has  promised  to 
take  me  on  trial,  as  a  sort  of  overseer  in  her 
work-room,  and  also  as  clerk ;  she  has  a 
great  deal  of  French  correspondence  which 
is  embarrassing  to  her."  Lil  turned  a  little 
pale.  So  the  step  had  been  taken ;  their 
place  for  the  future  was  to  be  among  small 
tradespeople,  lower  still,  in  fact.  But 
Martha  did  not,  or  would  not  see  this ;  she 
went  on  cheerfully,  "  I  am  to  begin  to 
morrow,  without  pay  at  first ;  I  have  to  go 


FAILURE. 


183 


through  a  sort  of  apprenticeship.  I  do  not 
really  enter  until  September;  then  she  is 
to  give  me  seven  dollars  a-week,  and  to 
raise  the  salary  if  I  suit." 

"  And  I  ?  am  I  to  sit  with  my  hands 
folded  ?  may  I  not  wait  on  her  customers, 
or  sweep  the  shop  ?  She  might  give  me  a 
dollar  or  two  a-week  for  that !  I  don't 
think  I  am  worth  more." 

"  No,  Lil,"  answered  Martha,  quite  seri 
ously,  "  the  work  I  take  on  myself,  is  not 
work  for  you ;  you  shall  never  be  a  shop 
girl.  In  the  first  place,  you  are  too  pretty." 

Lil  opened  her  eyes  wide. 

"  Pretty  people  have  hands,  feet,  and 
brains  like  the  others,  I  suppose  !  Besides, 
I  am  not  pretty  now — "  and  she  looked  at 
herself  disconsolately  in  the  small  mirror. 

"  I  have  thought  of  something  for  you. 
You  write  a  very  good  legible  hand,  and  I 


184  STORM-DRIVEN. 

mean  to  ask  Judge  Sparks — he  used  to  be 
a  good  friend  of  mine — to  get  you  work  as 
a  copying  clerk.  It  is  nice  quiet  work,  you 
would  have  a  little  room  to  yourself,  and 
the  pay,  though  not  exorbitant,  is  sufficient 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together — which  is 
about  all  one  can  say  of  women's  work,  at 
the  best." 

"  Very  well,"  answered  Lil ;  and  then, 
in  imagination  she  saw  her  sister  and  her 
self  through  a  long  vista  of  years,  plodding 
wearily  all  day  long,  living  silent,  forgotten, 
unnoticed  lives ;  earning  just  enough,  not 
to  starve ;  growing  grey  and  faded  and  old ; 
then  dying,  without  leaving  so  much  as  a 
regret  behind  them — the  story,  as  she  said 
to  herself,  of  many  old  maids  before  them. 

The  first  day,  Martha  came  back  with  a 
look  of  triumph  in  her  bright,  honest  eyes. 

"  Think  of  it,  Lil !     Mrs.  Taylor,  to  try 


FAILUKE.  185 

me,  set  me  at  once  to  copying  a  Paris 
bonnet,  and  the  copy  was  such  a  success 
that  the  worthy  lady  had  to  make  a  real 
effort  not  to  look  too  much  pleased,  for  fear 
I  should  immediately  strike  for  higher 
wages.  It  is  true  the  inside  was  not  as 
neat  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  stitches 
showed  where  they  should  not,  but  there 
was  an  undeniable  style  about  the  thing ; 
and  a  lady  who  happened  to  come  in 
looked  at  it  with  decided  favour.  I  shall 
become  a  first-class  milliner  yet,  depend 
upon  it !" 

Lil  tried  to  look  interested,  but  the 
effort  was  manifest — Martha  noticed  it. 

"  What  is  it,  Lil  ?  something  has 
happened." 

"  I  have  received  a  letter." 

"A  letter!"  exclaimed  Martha  with 
sudden  alarm. 


186  STORM-DEIVEN. 

"From  Mrs.  Cox,"  added  Lil  hastily, 
understanding  the  cause  of  her  sister's 
alarm,  and  blushing  to  find  that  she  under 
stood  it.  "  She  only  reached  town  a  day 
or  two  ago,  and  she  immediately  thought 
of  me." 

Martha  took  the  note,  with  its  immense 
monogram,  its  faint  perfume,  and  its 
scrawly,  ugly  handwriting.  It  ran  thus : — 

"MY  PRETTY  LILY, 

"  I  have  just  come  home,  and  I  want  to 
see  you.  I  have  met  no  girl,  all  this  long 
time,  who  pleases  me  as  much  as  you. 
You  must  not  fancy  that  I  forgot  you, 
though  I  had  no  time  to  write.  I  have 
something  very  particular  to  talk  to  you 
about,  something  which  I  trust  will  give 
you  pleasure.  I  shall  be  at  home  to-mor 
row  after  three,  and  shall  expect  to  see  you, 


FAILURE.  187 

and  to   prove   to  you  that  I  am  now  as 

ever, 

"  Your  friend, 

"  ANNE  Cox." 

"  I  wish  she  still  had  no  time  to  notice 
you,"  said  Martha. 

"  You  are  unjust;  you  never  liked  her." 
"  No ;  I  never  did.  You  will  say  that  it 
is  because  she  always  ignored  me,  as  she 
ignores  all  that  is  not  pretty  or  bright,  or 
useful  to  her.  But  that  is  not  the  reason ;  I 
do  not  say  that  she  is  heartless,  but  she  has 
such  an  adoration  for  her  own  dear  self,  she 
is  so  entirely  deity  and  high-priest,  all  in 
one,  that  the  rest  of  humanity  is  only  to  be 
prized  in  proportion  to  its  usefulness  to  her. 
If  you  happened  to  be  in  her  way,  Lil,  she 
would  step  over  you,  with  the  same  sweet 
smile  with  which  she  now  holds  out  her 
hand  to  you.  "What  does  she  want  with 


188  STORM-DRIVEN. 

you?"   she  added,  with  sudden  and  fierce 
jealousy. 

"  What  can  she  want,  except  to  prove  to 
me  that  I  misjudged  her  when  I  thought 
myself  abandoned  ?  Why  not  believe  that 
she  really  was  fond  of  me,  and  is  so  still?" 


J89 


CHAPTER   X. 
\ 

MRS.    COX. 

SINCE  the  night  of  the  ball,  Lil  had  not  even 
been  in  the  vicinity  of  Mrs.  Cox's  house. 
Her  occupations  had  all  been  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  and  from  fear  of  meeting 
her  old  associates  she  had  always  avoided 
going  out  at  all,  save  when  she  was  forced 
to  do  so.  It  was  now  with  a  beating 
heart  that  she  swung  back  the  gate,  and 
walked  along  the  gravelled  drive  towards 
the  house.  There  was  a  pleasant  lull  and 
rest  there,  under  the  shade  of  the  big  trees, 
now  in  all  their  summer  glory  of  deep  green 


190  STORiVl-DBIVEN. 

foliage;  a  feeling  of  peace  and  repose, 
strange  to  be  found  in  the  midst  of  a  busy, 
noisy  city.  This  quiet  soothed  her  nervous 
excitement,  she  tried  to  gather  all  her  self- 
respect,  and  all  possible  composure ;  tried 
to  forget  that  her  mourning  was  rusty  and 
worn,  that  she  was  going  to  step  into  a 
world  that  was  no  longer  her  world :  she 
repeated  over  and  over  again  to  herself 
that  it  was  Mrs.  Cox  who  had  sought  her, 
and  not  she  who  had  sought  Mrs.  Cox. 
Still  she  was  not  quite  calm,  as  she  rang 
the  bell.  A  man-servant,  in  plain  clothes, 
opened  the  door ;  men-servants  were  rari 
ties  in  Lakeville,  but  Mrs.  Cox,  who  chose 
to  impose  fashions  and  not  to  follow  them, 
was  served  by  footmen ;  she  had  attempted 
to  put  them  in  liveries,  but  that  was  so 
anti-republican,  so  un-American,  that  a 
perfect  storm  of  indignation  was  roused ; 


MRS.    COX.  191 

Mrs.  Cox  found  that  there  was  a  limit  to 
what  Lakeville  would  endure,  even  from 
her,  and  that  liveries  were  beyond  that 
limit ;  she,  being  a  wise  woman,  yielded. 

When  Lil  entered  the  principal  drawing- 
room,  that  very  room  where,  not  many 
months  before  she  had  stood,  the  queen 
of  the  evening,  she  saw  Mrs.  Cox  seated 
quite  at  the  other  end;  she  was  sur 
rounded  by  three  ladies,  dressed  in  the 
very  extreme  of  fashion. 

"  Come  here,  Lil,  my  darling,"  she  ex 
claimed  as  Lil  stood,  half-hesitating ;  she 
had  hoped  to  find  Mrs.  Cox  alone.  "Come 
here  ! "  she  did  not  rise  from  her  chair, 
but  simply  bent  forward  a  little.  The 
ladies  with  her  understood  from  this  im 
mediately  the  social  footing  of  the  new 
comer,  and  stared  at  her  accordingly. 

"  This,"    continued   Mrs.   Cox,  drawing 


192  STORM-DEIVEN. 

Lil  towards  her,  and  kissing  her  affectio 
nately;  "  is  a  great  pet  of  mine.  Sit  down, 
dear !"  and  she  pointed  to  a  low  chair  not 
far  from  herself,  but  a  little  out  of  the 
immediate  circle;  then  bestowing  on  her 
"pet"  one  of  her  very  best  smiles,  she 
continued  the  conversation  with  her  visitors, 
as  though  that  conversation  had  received 
no  interruption. 

Lil  felt  put  aside ;  and  the  glow  of  plea 
sure  which  had  come  over  her  at  her 
warm  reception,  gradually  faded  away. 
The  talk,  to  which  half-absently  she 
listened,  was  no  longer  the  talk  of  her 
world.  It  was  the  usual  jargon  about 
balls  and  theatres,  engagements  and  flirta 
tions,  the  fashionable  preacher  of  the  day, 
and  the  last  divorce  case.  It  was  talk  in 
which  she  was  not  expected  to  join,  in 
which,  indeed,  she  could  not  have  joined, 


MRS.    COX.  193 

for  society  had  gone  on  its  way  since  she 
had  ceased  to  belong  to  it,  and  it  was 
already  a  strange  world  to  her.  Having 
nothing  better  to  do,  she  examined  the 
young  girl  of  the  party,  who  talked  faster 
and  louder  than  the  others ;  her  dress 
was  of  the  last  fashion,  so  fashionable 
indeed  that  sitting  was  a  matter  of 
singular  difficulty,  only  to  be  accomplished 
by  skilful  side- way  manoeuvres. 

"At  last!"  said  Mrs.  Cox,  when  the 
door  closed  on  the  three  ladies ;  "  I 
thought  they  would  never  go  !  and  I  so 
wanted  to  talk  to  you,  darling!"  She 
drew  Lil  to  her,  made  her  sit  close  to  her, 
then  took  the  young  face  between  her 
hands  and  examined  it  critically. 

"My  poor  child!"  she  exclaimed,  while 
tears,  real  tears  stood  in  her  eyes ;  "  how 
these  cruel  months  have  changed  you  !  " 

VOL.  i.  o 


194  STORM-DEIVEN. 

"I  have  suffered,"  said  Lil,  frying  to 
speak  calmly. 

"  Of  course,  of  course !  I  might  have 
guessed  it.  What  a  dreadful  life  I  lead, 
my  dear;  I  have  no  time,  positively  no 
time  to  think  of  what  is  not  actually 
before  my  eyes.  I  did  not  forget  you,  of 
course ;  indeed,  I  cried  over  your  misfor 
tunes  more  than  once,  and  meant  to  write 
to  you,  but  how  was  it  possible  to  find  a 
moment?  If  you  knew  how  I  am  run 
after,  persecuted  dear,  absolutely  perse 
cuted  !  It  is  my  money,  of  course  ;  I  am 
not  blind,  and  I  know  quite  well  what 
makes  me  so  irresistibly  charming  and 
beautiful.  But  whatever  the  cause  may 
be,  the  effect  is  undoubted;  so  Lil,  you 
must  pity  and  not  blame  me — you  did 
blame  me,  I  saw  it  in  your  face  as  you 
came  in — now  confess  it !" 


MRS.    COX.  195 

"  I  felfc  myself  deserted,"  said  Lil,  not 
feeling  in  her  heart  the  pity  which  this 
victim  of  circumstances  demanded  of  her. 

"  I  knew  it !  and  naturally  your  sister, 
who  does  not  like  me,  improved  the  occa 
sion  to  preach  to  you  of  the  heartlessness 
of  the  rich,  and  to  point  out,  that  all  virtues 
are  on  the  side  of  the  poor.  But  it  is  not 
true.  What  is  true,  is  this :  people,  rich 
or  poor,  bear  in  mind  those  whom  they 
meet,  those  who  move  in  the  same  circle 
as  they  do,  who  have  the  same  interests, 
the  same  vices,  the  same  virtues ;  but  life 
is  so  crowded,  so  feverish,  that  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  those  who  have  every 
moment  of  their  time  taken  up,  every 
affection  of  which  they  are  capable  kept 
in  constant  play,  should  go  out  of  their 
beaten  track  to  find  yet  more  occupation 
for  their  time,  and  for  their  affections  ! 
o  2 


196  STORM-DRIVEN. 

You  and  your  sister  dropped  out  of  our 
circle;  fell,  through  circumstances  for 
which  no  one  was  responsible,  into  another 
sphere,  another  world ;  people  after  a 
while  became  accustomed  not  to  see  you 
any  more.  At  first  they  talked  over  your 
misfortunes,  they  felt  for  you,  they  really 
did  !  they  took  what  means  they  had,  to 
express  their  sympathy — " 

"Yes!"  interrupted  Lil,  "  for  the  first 
three  weeks,  we  had  a  great  many  cards 
left  at  our  door.  It  was  pasteboard  con 
solation," 

"People  do  what  they  can,  dear,"  con 
tinued  Mrs.  Cox,  patting  Lil's  hand;  she 
really  was  a  little  fond  of  this  pretty  girl ; 
"  some  did  more." 

"  That  is  true,  I  never  before  had  the 
opportunity  of  thanking  you  for  your  pro 
posed  generosity," 


MRS.    COX.  197 

"  Do  not  speak  of  that,"  said  Mrs.  Cox, 
a  little  hastily  ;  "  considering  your  sister's 
peculiar  disposition,  that  was  a  blunder  on 
my  part ;  I  am  always  willing  to  acknow 
ledge  my  mistakes.  I  wish  to  be  more 
successful  in  my  second  attempt  to  help 
you." 

"  Thanks,  dear  Mrs.  Cox,  it  is  very 
kind  of  you;  but  we  really  do  not  need 
help  now.  It  is  true  our  first  venture, 
our  little  school,  has  proved  a  failure,  but 
we  could  not  expect  to  succeed  at  once. 
Martha  will  soon  earn  seven  dollars  a- 
week  as  milliner,  and  I — well,  perhaps  I 
may  find  some  house-work  to  do ;  I  can 
make  a  bed  now,  and  even  cook  a  beef 
steak.  You  might  perhaps  recommend 
me — "  then  suddenly  the  girl's  courage 
gave  way ;  the  magnetism  of  the  soft 
patting  which  still  continued,  the  atmo- 


198  STORM-DRIVEN. 

sphere  of  luxury  in  that  flower- scented 
room,  intoxicated  her;  she  rebelled  pas 
sionately  against  her  dull,  coarse  fate; 
her  pleasure-loving  nature  called  out  loudly 
within  her,  and  in  spite  of  her  best  efforts, 
she  burst  into  a  paroxysm  of  sobs  and 
tears. 

Mrs.  Cox  soothed  her,  scolded  her, 
laughed  at  her ;  and  at  last  Lil  controlled 
herself. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mrs.  Cox,  I  ought 
to  have  remembered  that  the  doctors  for 
bade  any  rousing  of  your  sensibilities.  I 
will  go,  and  believe  me,  I  am  not  un 
grateful  to  you  for  having  remembered 
me.  At  the  same  time,  as  my  sphere  is 
destined  to  be  so  entirely  separated  from 
yours,  I  had  best  say  good-bye — a  real 
good-bye.  I  shall  never  forget  that  you 
were  once  a  little  fond  of  me." 


MES.    COX.  199 

u  You  shall  not  go :  you  are  a  little 
bitter  now,  but  that  is  natural.  I  mean 
to  keep  you  all  the  evening,  for  I  have 
something  to  propose  to  you — something 
which  need  not  offend  your  independence 
or  even  that  of  your  sister ;  there  is  no 
question  here  of  almsgiving,  I  shall  pay 
for  what  I  receive ;  no  more.  I  mean  to 
take  you  to  Europe  this  autumn,  as  my 
companion.55 

Lil  grew  suddenly  quite  pale;  it  was 
her  way  of  showing  great  emotion.  In 
an  instant,  she  saw  all  the  promises  held 
in  that  little  sentence ;  she  would  get 
away  from  the  scene  of  her  humiliations 
and  struggles ;  there  would  be  no  more 
mortifying  contrasts,  no  condescending 
nods  from  former  acquaintances.  A  new 
world  would  be  opened  to  her,  a  world 
which  it  had  always  been  her  dream — as 


200  STORM-DRIVEN. 

it  is  the  dream  of  every  American  girl— to 
visit.  But  Martha  ....  she  would  not 
stop  at  that  thought.  She  raised  her  eyes 
to  her  friend's,  and  said  in  a  low  trembling 
voice, — 

"  You  are  very  good  to  me." 

Mrs.  Cox  was  satisfied  with  the  effect 
she  had  produced.  She  was  a  woman  who 
liked  to  procure  for  herself  all  manner  of 
pleasant  sensations,  and  playing  fairy  god 
mother  to  this  pretty  girl  was  decidedly 
pleasant. 

When  Lil  had  recovered  from  the  first 
shock  of  her  surprise,  Mrs.  Cox  said, — 

"  Now,  my  dear,  let  us  talk  the  matter 
over  quietly  and  sensibly.  When  I  told 
you  that  you  should  be  laid  under  no  obli 
gation  to  me,  it  was  the  truth ;  of  course 
my  first  motive  in  what  I  propose  is  to  be 
agreeable  to  you,  I  like  you  and  I  feel  for 


MES.    COX.  201 

you  ;  I  know  that  your  life  here  is  wretched, 
that  your  pride  is  being  constantly  wounded; 
I  want  to  take  you  away  from  all  this.  You 
will  have  other  things  to  bear,  no  doubt ;  for 
poverty  is  hard  under  any  circumstances — 
I  ought  to  know  it — but  at  least  you  will 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  patronage  from 
girls  who  in  that  way  revenge  themselves 
on  you  for  your  past  belle-ship.  Mind  !  I 
do  not  blame  those  girls,  they  but  follow 
their  nature.  What  I  want  to  say  to  you 
frankly  is  this :  I  by  no  means  intend  to 
take  you  travelling  with  me  in  the  character 
of  a  young  lady  to  whom  I  am  expected  to 
act  as  chaperon.  When  I  offer  to  engage 
you  as  companion,  I  mean  you  to  be  really 
such,  paid  by  me  to  perform  certain  clearly 
defined  duties." 

"  I  understand,"  said  Lil  proudly.     "  I 
would  not  have  it  otherwise." 


202  STOBM-DRIVEN. 

"  That  is  right.  To  explain  what  will 
be  expected  of  you,  I  must  say  a  few  words 
about  myself.  You  know  if  I  have  one  virtue 
it  is  frankness  ;  I  have  always  said  fearlessly 
what  I  thought,  and  on  the  whole  I  do  not 
believe  it  to  be  the  worst  policy.  When  I 
married  Mr.  Cox,  I  never  pretended  that  it 
was  for  anything  but  the  position  and  the 
wealth  that  marriage  brought  me.  I  hated 
poverty  as  you  hate  it,  Lil ;  it  seemed  to 
me  then,  as  it  seems  to  you  now,  the  one 
irremediable,  dreadful  evil.  Other  women 
think  this ;  other  women  sell  themselves  as 
I  did, — you  see  I  am  very  plain-spoken — 
only  they  cover  over  their  act  with  a  plau 
sible  hypocrisy  which  deceives  no  one.  But 
I  can  afford  to  ride  roughshod  over  the 
petty  deceits  of  ordinary  women.  Im 
mense  wealth  gives  immense  power,  but  it 
also  creates  duties  and  responsibilities.  In 


MRS.    COX.  203 

the  first  place,  it  causes  me  to  be  the  ob 
ject  of  all  fortune-hunters,  from  dukes 
downwards;  it  also  excites  the  envy  and 
malice  of  nearly  every  woman  I  meet.  If 
by  any  chance  I  gave  the  slightest  hold  on 
me,  scandal-mongers  would  destroy  my 
reputation  with  real  delight ;  I  like  liberty, 
I  like  adulation,  I  must  have  my  court,  I 
never  mean  to  be  without  one  if  I  can  help 
it;  to  have  all  this,  and  yet  to  escape 
calumny,  I  must  not  travel  alone.  Last 
year,  I  had  a  sheep-dog  in  the  shape  of  a 
good  creature,  a  clergyman's  widow,  the 
quintessence  of  respectability  ;  but  she  was 
ugly,  and  she  had  a  disastrous  predilection 
for  brown,  a  colour  I  detest :  I  stood  it  as 
long  as  I  could,  but  human  patience  has 
limits,  and  at  last  I  sent  her  away." 

"  And  you  have  thought  of  me  as  sheep 
dog  number  two,"  said  Lil,  half-laughing ; 


204  STORM-DRIVEN. 

"  I  fear  my  bark  is  not  formidable  enough 
to  keep  the  wolves  away." 

"  You  will  answer  the  purpose  very  well ; 
I  must  be  known  to  have  a  companion,  that 
is  all." 

"  And  what  would  be  my  duties  ?  "  asked 
Lil  very  soberly. 

"You  must  be  a  sort  of  private  secre 
tary  ;  you  write  a  pretty,  clear  hand ;  you 
will  have  to  answer,  or  to  destroy  scores  of 
letters  every  day,  principally  begging-let 
ters;  they  must  be  classed;  you  have 
intelligence  enough  to  distinguish  between 
those  that  are  unimportant  and  those  that 
are  not ;  every  morning  you  will  give  me  a 
brief  statement  of  the  correspondence. 
Then  you  must  have  an  alms  account- 
book,  which  I  shall  overlook  every  month. 
I  put  aside  a  certain  sum  every  year  for 
my  charities  ;  I  always  spend  it,  and  never 


MRS.    COX.  205 

go  beyond.  A  person  in  my  position  is 
bound  to  be  charitable;  I  take  great  plea 
sure  in  giving,  as  long  as  I  can  do  so 
without  inconvenience  to  myself.  Then 
it  has  its  uses;  I  know  a  lady  who,  in 
Rome,  got  into  the  highest  circles  by  send 
ing  a  five-hundred  lire  bill  to  a  Roman 
princess  who  was  getting  up  a  charity. 
You  must  be  my  almoner,  you  must  exa 
mine  the  different  cases  and  report  to  me. 
Do  you  understand  ?  " 

"  Perfectly.     What  else  ?  " 

"  I  shall  expect  you  to  be  always  on 
hand  when  I  want  you ;  never  in  the  way, 
when  I  wish  to  be  alone;  you  have  natural 
tact, — that  is  a  quality  which  I  recommend 
you  to  cultivate  to  the  highest  possible 
degree.  You  see,"  she  added,  smiling, 
"  you  see,  my  pet,  what  I  offer  you  is  no 


sinecure." 


206  STORM-DKIVEN. 

"No,  it  is  not,"  answered  Lil  can- 
didly. 

"  Yet  you  will  accept,"  and  again  Mrs. 
Cox,  looking  down  on  the  young  girl,  en 
veloped  her,  so  to  speak,  in  her  smile  :  she 
was  a  fascinating  woman  when  she  chose, 
and  at  that  moment  she  chose  to  be  very 
fascinating. 

"  And  Martha?"  whispered  Lil ;  she  had 
til]  then  resolutely  kept  the  thought  of  her 
sister  away. 

"  She  is  fond  of  you  after  her  fashion, 
and  it  would  be  unpardonable  selfishness 
in  her  to  prevent  your  acceptance  of 
my  offer.  What  can  she  give  you  in 
exchange  ?  " 

Mrs.  Cox  said  much  more  to  the  same 
purpose,  kept  Lil  to  dinner,  and  during 
the  evening  talked  much  and  well  about 
herself.  Indeed  she  rarely  had  any  other 


MRS.    COX.  207 

theme  of  conversation ;  she  had  so  thought 
about  herself,  so  studied  her  own  nature, 
her  weak  points  and  her  strong  points,  she 
so  worshipped  herself,  respected  herself, 
turned  and  adapted  all  things  in  life  to  her 
personal  advancement  or  pleasure,  that  she 
had  had  no  time  to  direct  her  intelligence  else 
where.  The  general  interests  of  humanity 
at  large  left  her  cold ;  the  great  problems 
of  society  did  not  interest  her;  she  did  not 
care  to  read,  unless  in  some  novel  she  hap 
pened  to  find  a  case  bearing  some  analogy 
to  her  own,  and  even  then  the  heroine  did 
not  interest  her  long.  She  turned  from  the 
book  to  her  eternal  self-contemplation.  She 
had  never  thought  of  blaming  herself  for 
any  of  her  acts  ;  indeed,  a  delicate  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  was  absolutely  wanting  in 
her.  She  did  not  believe  in  love,  in  heroism, 
in  self-sacrifice,  simply  because  she  knew 


208  STORM-DEIVEN. 

herself  incapable  of  experiencing  anything 
of  the  kind. 

When  Mrs.  Cox  at  length  allowed  Lil  to 
go,  she  felt  a  delightful  glow  of  self-gratu- 
lation ;  at  that  moment  she  was  really  fond 
of  the  young  girl,  of  whom  she  had  not 

thought  a  dozen  times  in  as  many  months, 

• 

and  the  conviction  that  she  had  done  for 
her  what  none  of  her  other  rich  friends  had 
done,  gave  her  a  comfortable  satisfaction 
which  was  exceedingly  agreeable. 

Martha  was  waiting  for  her  sister,  feeling 
anxious  and  uneasy;  she  listened  in  silence 
to  Lil's  excited  and  rather  incoherent 
account  of  what  happened,  then  she  said 
with  a  sharp  ring  in  her  voice, — 

"  But  you  will  refuse — you  will  surely  not 
go  with  her  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  Martha,  I  have  promised." 

The  elder  sister  said  nothing ;  but  she 


MES.    COX.  209 

who  had  been  so  brave  through  all  her 
troubles,  now  utterly  broke  down.  She 
was  so  fond  of  her  young  sister,  so  proud  of 
her,  so  very  loath  to  lose  her.  The  tears 
came  fast,  and  Lil,  as  she  tried  to  console 
her,  almost  declared  that  she  would  retreat 
her  promise  to  Mrs.  Cox ;  yet  in  her  heart 
she  knew  that  she  would  not  do  this. 


VOL.  i. 


210 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ALL   THAT   GLITTERS   IS   NOT    GOLD. 

EVEN  had  Lil  seriously  meditated  yielding 
to  her  sister's  wish,  and  allowed  Mrs.  Cox 
to  start  for  Europe  without  her,  circum 
stances  would  have  rendered  the  putting 
her  resolution  into  execution,  very  difficult. 
Mrs.  Cox,  who  was  not  a  woman  to  hide  her 
light  under  a  bushel,  told  her  friends — and 
their  name  was  legion,  of  her  benevolent  in 
tention  with  regard  to  her  pet,  Lil  Temple. 
"  Poor  child  !  I  positively  cried  when  I 
saw  her,  she  is  so  changed !  it  is  hard  to 
see  a  sweet  pretty  creature  like  that  fade 


ALL   THAT    GLITTERS    IS   NOT    GOLD.       211 

away  in  tlie  mustiness  of  a  schoolroom ; 
she  needs  change  of  air  and  scene ;  the 
trip  to  Paris  will  do  her  a  world  of  good, 
and  it  will  not  be  my  fault,  if  she  does  not 
come  back  to  America  the  wife  of  some 
rich  man  or  other  !  I  am  so  fond  of  her." 

"  How  good  of  you — how  kind — how 
generous  !  "  was  echoed  on  every  side,  and 
Lil  Temple's  good  luck  became  the  theme 
of  gossip  almost  as  much  as  her  misfor 
tunes  had  been,  some  months  before. 

Still  under  the  influence  of  Martha's  grief, 
Lil  went  to  Mrs.  Cox,  half- determined  to 
break  the  engagement  she  had  made ;  but 
at  the  first  word,  her  friend  laughed 
merrily, — 

"My  dear  girl,  do  you  think  I  know 
human  nature  so  little  as  not  to  have 
expected  this,  and  to  have  taken  my  mea 
sures  accordingly  ?  Do  you  fancy  that  I 
p  2 


212  STORM-DRIVEN. 

do  not  know  just  what  passed  between 
your  sister  and  yourself  ?  You  are  a  very 
nice  girl,  Lil ;  but  weak,  decidedly  weak ; 
you  yield  to  the  influence  of  the  moment ; 
Martha  and  I,  just  now  are  conflicting 
powers ;  but  as  I  have  on  my  side  many 
advantages,  which  fortunately  you  value  as 
they  deserve  to  be  valued,  I  have  not 
much  to  fear  from  my  antagonist.  Your 
berth  is  taken ;  I  telegraphed  to  have  it 
retained,  as  soon  as  you  left  me  the  other 
evening.  A  dressmaker  is  coming  to-day 
to  take  your  measure,  for  naturally  I  must 
renew  your  wardrobe.  Sit  down,  and  let 
us  talk  over  that  important  question  of 
dresses  and  bonnets." 

This  was  a  question  which  was  not  with 
out  interest.  Lil  therefore  sat  down,  and 
after  a  few  qualms  of  conscience,  yielded  to 
the  wishes  of  her  imperious  benefactress. 


ALL   THAT    GLITTERS   IS   NOT   GOLD.       213 

Visitors  came  and  interrupted  the  discussion; 
but  Mrs.  Cox  kept  her  by  her  side,  and  to 
Lil,  it  almost  seemed  as  if  old  times  had 
come  back  again.  She  was  spoken  to,  treated 
as  though  she  had  suddenly  stepped  once 
more  into  the  magic  circle  called  Society ; 
several  ladies  vowed  that  they  had  ima 
gined  that  Martha  and  she  had  left  the 
city  long  since,  otherwise,  how  delighted 
they  would  have  been  to  see  her  often  at 
their  houses  !  Lil  was  not  much  deceived  by 
these  advances,  still  they  were  not  unplea 
sant  to  her ;  Martha's  dreadful  resolution  of 
becoming  a  milliner,  was  not  yet  universally 
known;  and  she,  as  Mrs.  Cox's  protegee,  was 
almost  a  person  of  importance  once  more. 

After  this,  Lil  spent  most  of  her  time 
at  the  big  house;  she  grew  quickly  at 
home  among  its  luxuries;  she  seemed  to 
expand  like  a  flower  in  sunshine;  no 


214  STORM-DBIVEN. 

one  could  accuse  her  of  being  faded 
now,  her  eyes  were  bright,  and  she  was 
prettier  than  ever.  Mrs.  Cox  took  pos 
session  of  her,  she  became  her  latest 
plaything,  a  plaything  of  which  she  was 
proud.  Lil  as  yet  was  submissive  to  all 
her  whims ;  the  harmony  between  them 
would  not  have  lasted  long  had  it  been 
otherwise.  Once  only  Lil  showed  signs 
of  rebellion;  it  was  when  she  was  told 
that  she  was  to  leave  off  her  mourn 
ing. 

"  My  dear,  I  hate  black  almost  as  much 
as  brown;  I  hate  everything  that  is  sad 
and  ugly  !  I  only  want  to  look  at  pleasant 
objects,  to  think  of  pleasant  things ;  black^ 
is  a  perpetual  memento  mori — and  I  want 
no  such  memento.  Death  has  to  come  of 
course,  we  all  know  that ;  but  in  the  mean 
time,  the  less  we  think  of  it,  the  better  for 


ALL    THAT   GLITTERS    IS   NOT   GOLD.       215 

our  health  and  spirits  ;  I  want  no  skeleton 
at  my  feast ! " 

Lil  pleaded,  but  pleaded  in  vain  ;  all  she 
could  obtain  was  to  keep  her  black  dress 
until  they  left  Lakeville.  She  was  begin 
ning  to  feel  the  iron  hand  in  the  silk  glove :  a 
sudden  terror  came  upon  her;  she  wondered 
whether  the  present  freak  of  affection 
which  had  come  so  suddenly,  would  pass 
away  as  suddenly;  even  now  Mrs.  Cox's 
fancy  for  her  looked  fearfully  like  tyranny. 
But  Lil  was  fascinated,  even  less  by  the 
luxury  and  elegance  which  surrounded  this 
woman,  than  by  the  woman  herself.  She 
chose  to  dazzle  Lil,  and  she  succeeded  ; 
during  this  time,  while  she  was  still  merely 
a  friend,  not  a  paid  attendant,  her  patroness 
was  so  charming,  talked  so  freely,  and  with 
such  delightful  frankness,  that  the  young 
girl  would  have  needed  to  make  a  very 


216  STOEM-DRI  YEN. 

strong  effort  to  break  through  the  charm ; 
and  that  effort  she  did  not  even  attempt  to 
make. 

Still,  Mrs.  Cox  being  a  wise  woman,  did 
not  forget  the  business  part  of  the  affair ; 
she  fixed  the  salary  Lil  was  to  receive ;  it 
was  not  a  large  one,  for,  as    she  quietly 
observed,    she    incurred    many    expenses 
which,  with  an    ordinary  companion,  she 
would  certainly  not  have  done.     First  of 
all  there  was  the  wardrobe ;    she  did  not 
forget  what  it  cost  her,  even  though  she 
experienced  much  pleasure  in  superintend 
ing  it.     This  was  more  of  an  art  than  may 
be  supposed  at  first :    she  had  decided  that 
Lil  should  not  be  taken  for  a  young  lady 
on   her  travels,  she  ought,  therefore,  to  be 
dressed  according  to  the  part   she  was  to 
play ;  everything  was  pretty  and  in  perfect 
taste,  but  there  was    an   air   of    retiring 


ALL   THAT   GLITTERS   IS    NOT   GOLD.       217 

deference  in  the  soft,  dark  colours,  and 
dependence  reigned  among  the  modest 
trimmings — the  hats  themselves  were  full 
of  proud  humility  and  reserve.  Lil  saw 
all  this,  and  understood  it  perfectly. 

"  Young  girls  in  Europe  dress  far  more 
modestly  than  they  do  in  America,'5  said 
Mrs.  Cox  one  day;  this  was  the  only 
allusion  she  made  to  the  simplicity  of  the 
pretty  dresses. 

Sometimes  Lil  asked  herself  what  was 
the  secret  of  this  fine  lady's  undoubted 
influence,  which  was,  in  spite  of  what  all 
the  Mrs.  Richards's  in  the  world  might  say, 
quite  distinct  from  the  effect  produced  by 
her  immense  wealth.  She  was  a  clever 
woman  certainly  in  many  ways,  but  she 
was  neither  highly  educated,  nor  irre 
proachably  refined;  she  held  books,  pic 
tures,  music,  as  things  which  belong  to 


218  STORM-DEIVEN. 

the  world  of  the  rich,  just  as  silk  hang 
ings,  Turkey  carpets,  and  beautiful  bronzes 
belong  to  it ;  she  would  speak  about  these, 
as  she  occasionally  spoke  of  politics,  just 
enough  to  show  that  she  was  not  entirely 
ignorant  of  them.  But  with  her,  these 
were  not  favourite  themes,  she  much 
preferred  to  talk  about  herself  and  her 
neighbours.  Here  she  was  perfectly  at 
her  ease ;  her  clear,  cold  mind  was  well 
stored  with  observations  of  human  nature ; 
she  saw  the  hidden  motives  of  acts  with 
marvellous  quickness;  fine  words  never 
deceived  her,  she  believed  in  evil  rather 
than  in  good ;  but  with  her,  this  cynicism 
was  of  the  most  genial  kind;  she  was 
never  angry  with  people  for  being  selfish, 
or  ungenerous,  or  ambitious ;  she  calmly 
observed  the  working  of  these  springs  of 
action,  and  thought  it  all  very  natural ; 


ALL   THAT   GLITTERS   IS   NOT    GOLD.       219 

she  was  by  no  means  sure  that  in  their 
place  she  would  have  acted  otherwise. 
One  day  she  was  talking  about  her  lovers — 
a  favourite  subject ;  she  would  sometimes 
laugh  at  herself,  when  she  had  indulged  in 
this  feminine  weakness  a  little  more  than 
usual. 

"  After  all,  I  have  a  real  right  to  talk 
about  it,  for  I  suppose  few  women  have 
had  more  offers  than  I ;  when  I  was  your 
age,  and  I  may  say  with  truth,  beautiful, 
my  lovers  were  not  numerous.  It  was  not 
so  much  because  I  was  poor — that  after  all 
in  the  United  States  is  not  an  obstacle — 
but  because  my  position  was  not  a  good 
one ;  I  was  not  in  what  is  called  Society, 
and  it  was  thanks  to  my  cleverness  that  I 
married  as  I  did.  No  !  when  I  speak  of 
lovers,  I  mean  the  men  who  for  the  last 
ten  years  have  wanted  to  marry  me.  Men 


220  STORM-DRIVEN. 

of  the  highest  rank  :  American  politicians, 
French  dukes,  English  lords;  wherever  I 
go  I  am  pursued.  It  is  very  amusing,  I 
assure  you.  For  a  long  time  I  vowed  I 
would  never  marry  again;  I  had  had 
enough  of  conjugal  bliss,  and  I  thoroughly 
enjoyed  my  liberty  and  my  millions ;  but 
now  I  begin  to  hesitate." 

"  Are  you  in  love  ?"  asked  Lil. 

"In  love?"  and  Mrs.  Cox  laughed  her 
merriest  laugh.  "  You  silly  child,  is  there 
such  a  thing  as  love  ?  There  is  passion, 
there  is  the  attraction  of  beauty,  there  are 
feelings  which  it  is  not  necessary  to 
examine  too  closely ;  but  love,  what  poets 
and  novelists  call  love — does  it  really 
exist  ?  I  think  not,  at  any  rate  I  never  felt 
it ;  yet  I  believe  there  is  not  a  more  con 
tented  woman  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
than  I  am." 


ALL   THAT   GLITTERS    IS   NOT    GOLD.       221 

"  I  would  not  change  places  with  you," 
exclaimed  Lil. 

"  Who  knows  ?  you  will  perhaps  do  as  I 
have  done,  become  what  I  have  become. 
But  to  return  to  my  suitors ;  you  must  not 
think  that  it  is  my  money  alone  which 
attracts  them,"  continued  Mrs.  Cox  more 
seriously ;  "  at  least  they  do  not  acknow 
ledge  to  themselves  that  it  is.  Great 
wealth  sheds  about  it  a  certain  atmosphere 
of  fascination  which  is  made  up  of  many 
and  various  elements;  one  does  not  see 
the  dollar,  but  one  enjoys  the  refinements 
and  luxuries  which  the  dollar  gives.  You, 
at  this  present  moment,  feel  that  fascina 
tion  even  while  you  fancy  that  you  are 
above  the  worship  of  mere  wealth ;  of  all 
the  natures  I  know,  yours  is  perhaps  the 
most  accessible  to  such  influences — influ 
ences  half-poetical,  half-sensuous.  Well, 


222  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

my  suitors — some  of  whom  have  enough 
money  of  their  own,  not  to  run  after  other 
people's — feel  that  same  influence,  and 
yield  to  it  with  a  facility  which  amuses 
me.  Then  there  is  the  excitement  which 
such  competition  gives ;  there  are  so  many 
who  want  me,  that  the  winner  will  feel  a 
positive  triumph  at  having  distanced  the 
others." 

"And  will  there  be  a  winner?"  asked 
Lil  curiously. 

"  Ah  1  that  is  the  question.  I  shall  pro 
bably  make  up  my  mind  this  coming  winter. 
If  I  were  a  Livingstone  or  a  Carrol,  or 
other  nice-sounding  name,  I  should  pro 
bably  keep  my  dear  liberty,  but  Mrs.  Cox  ! 
— it  is  out  of  harmony  with  my  wealth, 
with  my  face  and  my  figure ;  I  have  what 
people  call  a  queenlike  presence  :  the  name 
of  Cox  suggests  ridiculous  memories  of  a 


ALL   THAT   GLITTERS    IS   NOT    GOLD.       223 

certain  celebrated  farce.  If  ever  I  do 
marry,  I  shall  have  a  name  that  rolls  out 
superbly  like  golden  coins  from  an  over-full 
bag.  It  was  really  not  fair  of  Mr.  Cox  to 
have  such  a  name!"  she  said  this  laugh 
ingly,  but  Lil  knew  that  she  was  more  than 
half  in  earnest. 


224 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OUT   IN   THE   BIG   WORLD. 

THE  parting  between  the  two  sisters  was  a 
very  painful  one — all  the  more  painful  that 
neither  could  express  all  she  felt.  Martha, 
when  she  had  seen  that  Lil  was  really 
going,  had  avoided  all  remonstrances,  but 
she  felt  hurt  and  grieved  nevertheless.  On 
her  side,  Lil  disapproved  more  and  more  of 
the  step  her  sister  had  taken;  when  it  be 
came  known  that  the  elder  Miss  Temple 
had  turned  milliner,  Lil  felt  that  the  society 
temperature  about  her  had  suddenly  gone 
down  many  degrees.  Democracy  is  all 


OUT   IN   THE    BIG  WORLD.  225 

very  well  in  theory,  but  as  to  putting  it 
into  practice  by  remaining  on  terms  of 
equality  with  one's  milliner  or  dressmaker, 
why,  that  was  another  thing  !  Yet,  if  Lil 
disapproved  of  what  Martha  had  done,  she 
did  not  allow  others  to  disapprove  of  it  in 
her  presence,  or  to  speak  of  her,  save  with 
great  respect.  On  the  eve  of  their  depar 
ture,  Mrs.  Cox  said  carelessly, — 

".By  the  way,  Lil,  say  good-bye  to  your 
sister  for  me." 

"  No,  I  will  not,"  answered  Lil  abruptly, 
while  her  eyes  flashed. 

"  And  why  not,  pray  ?  " 

"Because  you  are  unjust  to  Martha; 
you  always  were  so ;  even  when  wo  met  on 
equal  terms,  you  used  barely  to  nod  over 
your  shoulder  at  her,  or  you  slipped  your 
gloved  hand  through  her  fingers,  as  if  you 
would  say,  "  Dear  me  !  how  extraordinary 

VOL.    I.  Q 


226  STOHM-DEIVEN. 

that  I  should  remember  who  you  are ! " 
simply  because  you  felt  that  you  could  have 
no  hold  on  her  sensible,  honest  nature; 
you  cannot  endure  equals  or  superiors,  you 
must  be  always  surrounded  by  impression 
able  foolish  creatures  like  me,  who  worship 
or  fear  you,  as  the  case  may  be.  Now  that 
she  has  chosen  to  earn  her  living  as  best 
she  could  without  consulting  society 
prejudices,  you  ignore  her  altogether, — 
why  you  should  suddenly  remember  her 
existence,  I  cannot  imagine.  No,  Mrs.  Cox, 
I  will  not  take  your  message  to  my  sister  !  " 

Mrs.  Cox  looked  at  her  with  intense 
enjoyment. 

"  My  dear  child,  you  are  charming ! 
There  is  nothing  of  the  tame  dependent 
about  you,  thank  goodness !  "  and  then 
laughing,  she  turned  away. 

It  required  all  the  delightful  bustle  and 


OUT   IN   THE    BIG   WORLD.  227 

excitement  of  the  journey  to  bring  back 
Lil's  bright  spirits;  she  had  travelled  but 
very  little  in  her  life,  and  everything  she 
saw  amused  and  interested  her. 

From  the  time  Lil  fairly  entered  upon 
her  new  life,  there  came  a  slight,  a  very 
slight  change,  in  the  relations  between  her 
self  and  her  patroness.  She  was  the  com 
panion,  she  had  her  duties,  she  was  paid  to 
perform  them;  she  was  an  inferior.  Mrs. 
Cox  still  talked  to  her — petted  her  even  at 
times — but  she  rigidly  exacted  the  services 
for  which  she  gave  out  her  dollars.  There 
was  another  reason  for  this  change.  In 
Lakeville,  during  the  late  summer  weeks, 
most  of  her  friends  were  absent;  her  court 
was  incomplete,  and  she  had  many  unoc 
cupied  moments  which  it  had  not  been  un 
pleasant  to  spend  in  forming  her  new  com 
panion  ;  she  needed  to  be  constantly  amused, 
Q  2 


228  STOBM-DRIVEN. 

and  Lil  had  amused  her.  Once  out  of 
Lakeville,  things  had  altered.  They  arrived 
at  New  York  some  time  before  the  sailing 
of  the  vessel,  which  was  to  take  them  direct 
to  Havre.  Here, Mrs.  Cox  was  immediately 
surrounded;  she  had  friends  everywhere — 
friends  who  had  beautiful  country-places 
on  the  Hudson — friends  who  had  returned 
to  town,  and  all  visited  her;  all  courted  and 
admired  her.  She  was  extraordinarily  po 
pular — so  popular,  indeed,  that  her  wealth 
alone  could  hot  have  explained  it  satisfac 
torily.  "  She  is  so  thoroughly  good-natured, 
so  ready  to  be  pleased,  so  clever,  her  smile 
is  so  fascinating  and  so  lavishly  bestowed," 
— all  this,  her  friends  repeated  continually ; 
and  it  was  all  quite  true. 

In  the  midst  of  the  bustle  and  turmoil 
which  this  great  popularity  engendered,  Lil 
was  left  a  little  on  one  side;  sometimes  she 


OUT   IN   THE   BIG   WORLD.  229 

accompanied  Mrs.  Cox,  sometimes  she  was 
left  alone  at  the  hotel,  with — as  she  would 
say  to  herself  with  some  bitterness — the 
other  servants ;  she  began  plainly  to  under 
stand  her  position,  and  she  proudly  accepted 
it ;  she  was  paid  for  her  services,  and  those 
services  she  would  give  to  the  best  of  her 
ability,  asking  for  nothing  but  what  was 
her  due;  she  was  intelligent  and  quick, 
proved  to  be  an  excellent  secretary,  and 
won  occasional  praise  for  her  tact,  neat 
handiness,  and  rapid  comprehension.  Mrs. 
Cox  had  perhaps  expected  a  scene  or  two 
from  her  spirited  companion,  and  was 
grateful  to  be  spared  such;  she  congratu 
lated  herself  on  the  way  she  had  moulded 
her  young  friend,  and  rewarded  her  by 
taking  her  to  the  theatre,  or  for  very  plea 
sant  drives. 

The   weather   was    still   beautiful   when 


230  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

they  went  on  board  the  steamer.  As  she 
stood  on  deck,  looking  out  on  the  beautiful 
bay  with  its  sun-lit  waves,  the  grand  sweep 
of  shore  and  the  huge  spire-tipped  city 
looming  in  the  distance,  she  felt  like  those 
children  in  the  fairy  tales  who  "  go  out  in 
the  big  world  to  seek  their  fortunes."  She 
was  full  of  hope  and  courage;  there  was  all 
the  buoyancy  of  youth  about  her,  no  fear 
of  the  future  dimmed  the  enjoyment  of  the 
present,  the  mere  joy  of  living  was  upon 
her,  and  that  seemed  enough. 

But  the  joy  of  living  did  not  suffice 
during  that  time  for  Mrs.  Cox;  she  was 
always  dolefully  sea-sick  on  the  ocean,  she 
never  went  on  deck,  was  never  seen  at 
table  during  the  ten  or  twelve  days  of  the 
passage ;  it  was  not  that  she  was  really  ill 
all  that  time,  but  it  was  a  principle  of  hers 
never  to  allow  herself  to  be  seen  at  a  dis- 


OUT   IN   THE    BIG   WOULD.  231 

advantage;  she  chose  never  to  descend 
from  her  queenship,  and  sea-sickness  even 
in  its  mildest  form  is  not  compatible  with 
queenship.  She  needed  much  waiting  upon, 
much  amusing  during  the  voyage;  it  is 
true  that  the  hardest  work  fell  on  her  maid. 
Lil  was  never  allowed  to  enter  the  state 
room  till  the  toilet  was  completed;  that 
important  act  once  accomplished,  Therese 
was  replaced  by  Lil.  A  little  of  the  lightest 
possible  literature  was  skimmed  over,  but 
usually  Mrs.  Cox  would  say,  "  Put  down 
that  stupid  book,  and  talk  to  me.  Tell  me 
about  the  people  on  board." 

No  detail  was  too  trivial;  everything 
was  acceptable  which  could  bring  forgetful- 
ness  of  her  sickness.  Fortunately,  Lil  was 
quick  at  observing  little  details,  and  man 
aged  to  make  the  gossip  amusing  enough. 
People  crowded  together  in  a  small  space 


232  STORM-DRIVEN. 

inevitably  show  their  follies  and  foibles  to 
each  other.  There  -was,  of  course,  the 
belle,  who  received  the  attentions  of  half-a- 
dozen  very  young  men  ;  there  JPRS,  besides, 
a  number  of  other  girls,  more  or  less 
pretty,  more  or  less  envious  of  the  belle ; 
there  were  the  heavy  matrons,  the  loung 
ing  papas,  lost  without  the  excitement  of 
the  daily  papers  and  the  gold-room  talk-; 
there  were  the  children;  there  was  even 
the  necessary  prima-donna,  going  back  to 
France  after  a  triumphant  tour  in  the 
"  States." 

"  Mind,  Lil,  you  may  look  on  at  the  flirt 
ing  as  much  as  you  like,  but  that  is  a 
pastime  which  is  absolutely  forbidden  to 
you.  In  your  position  it  would  never  do. 
To  a  rich  girl,  flirting  does  no  harm ;  ifc  is 
a  thing  received.  Whether  in  reality  it  is 
as  harmless  as  we  all  say  it  is,  I  do  not  stop 


OUT   IN   THE   BIG   WORLD.  233 

to  examine ;  but  to  a  poor  girl  in  a  de 
pendent  position,  it  would  be  the  greatest 
detriment.  I  warn  you  very  candidly,  that 
at  the  first  sign  of  it  in  you,  I  should  send 
you  back  to  your  sister  without  mercy.  I 
must  have  perfect  respectability,  severe 
respectability,  in  those  about  me ;  my 
peculiar  position  requires  it.  I  never  per 
mitted  myself,  either  as  a  young  girl  or  a 
young  woman,  to  flirt,  and  I  will  not 
permit  it  in  you." 

"You  need  not  fear,"  said  Lil,  rather 
coldly.  "  I  should  be  obtuse  indeed  if  I 
did  not  understand  the  duties  of  my  posi 
tion.  Besides,"  she  added,  in  another  tone, 
"  even  if  I  wished  to  flirt,  I  should  be  much 
at  a  loss  to  carry  out  my  desire.  There 
are  not  many  men  on  board,  and  they  are 
all  monopolized.  I  do  not  suppose  they 
know  that  I  am  a  little  nobody,  but  one 


234  STORM-DRIVEN. 

must  be  of  '  the  set '  to  be  a  favourite  with 
Americans.  It  does  not  suffice  merely 
to  be  rich  or  good-looking,  to  become 
popular;  one  must  be  '  one  of  them.'  As 
it  is,  no  one  knows  me,  and  I  remain  in  my 
corner  quite  undisturbed  by  masculine  ad 
miration.  At  table  I  sit  next  to  an  old 
gentleman  with  shaggy  eyebrows,  who 
grunts  when  he  eats,  and  is  not  over 
scrupulous  about  his  dress.  I  am  not  sure 
that  he  has  ever  looked  at  me ;  the  dishes 
interest  him  far  more.  On  the  other  side 
I  am  well  protected  by  a  number  of  vacant 
chairs." 

Notwithstanding  the  light  way  in  which 
Lil  said  this,  her  isolation  weighed  on  her ; 
she  found  the  cold  stare  of  strangers  hard 
to  bear ;  she  compared  herself  to  the  other 
girls  who  were  surrounded  and  admired, 
and  she  knew  that  she  was  as  pretty  as 


OUT   IN   THE   BIG   WORLD.  235 

any  of  them.  Once  or  twice,  little  advances 
were  made  to  her,  and  those  she  felt  obliged 
to  repulse.  Evidently  these  gay  young 
people  concluded  that  she  was  proud  or 
morose,  and  the  slight  advances  were  not 
repeated.  She  was  positively  grateful  to 
her  bushy -browed  neighbour  when,  on  the 
fourth  day,  he  honoured  her  with  a  stare, 
as — unexpected  courtesy  ! — he  handed  her 
the  pickles.  There  was  something  in  his 
rough  face  which  was  not  unpleasant,  and 
she  noticed  that,  when  the  others  addressed 
him,  it  was  with  a  certain  deference.  After 
the  pickle  incident,  Lil  was  rather  startled 
to  find  that  she  was  being  honoured  with 
another  stare;  then  he  suddenly  said,— 
"  Your  '  ma  }  sick  all  this  time  ?  " 
If  Mrs.  Cox  could  have  heard  him  ! 
"  She  is  still  sick,"  answered  Lil,  as 
soberly  as  she  could ;  and  then  she  addeda 


236  STORM-DRIVEN. 

with  a  little  effort,  "  But  she  is  not  my 
mother ;  I  am  travelling  with  her  as  com 
panion." 

"Oh,  indeed!"  and  there  came  still 
another  look  from  under  the  heavy  eye 
brows.  It  was,  however,  followed  by  no 
farther  attempt  at  conversation.  Lil  felt 
that  the  people  opposite  who  had  heard  her 
little  speech,  were  looking  at  her  curiously. 
She  grew  painfully  embarrassed  and 
ashamed  of  her  embarrassment :  for  the 
first  time  she  regretted  being  a  good  sailor. 


237 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ON   BOARD. 

LIL'S  taciturn  neighbour  did  not  seem  to 
think  any  the  less  of  her  on  account  of  her 
dependent  position,  differing  in  that  respect, 
considerably,  from  the  belle,  and  the  belle's 
mother  who  sat  opposite.  On  the  contrary, 
he,  of  the  shaggy  eyebrows,  offered  her,  at 
the  following  meal,  not  only  the  pickles, 
but  various  other  condiments;  he  performed 
these  little  services  usually  in  silence,  or 
accompanied  them  simply  with  a  grunted 
monosyllable;  evidently  he  was  not  a 
talkative  man;  the  young  lady  opposite 


238  STORM-DEIVEN. 

being  shut  out  from  other  masculine  atten 
tions  by  the  position  of  her  seat  at  table, 
had  endeavoured  to  bring  him  into  the 
conversation,  and  had  failed  signally. 

Lil  rather  wondered  at  her  persevering 
efforts,  and  at  the  evident  ill-humour  she 
felt  at  her  want  of  success,  for  the  object 
of  her  attacks  was  a  man  of  decidedly 
shabby  appearance.  This  shabbiness  rather 
attracted  Lil ;  she  considered  that  his  small 
attentions  proceeded  from  that  sympathy 
which  the  poor  feel  for  the  poor,  and  she 
was  grateful  to  him  for  it.  Once  or  twice 
as  she  sat  on  deck,  her  knitting  lying  idly 
on  her  lap,  he  sat  down  by  her,  not 
apparently  from  any  desire  of  furthering 
their  acquaintance,  for  his  conversation  was 
confined  to  short  remarks  on  the  weather, 
but  rather  because  there  happened  to  be  a 
vacant  seat  near  her,  and  because  he  seemed 


ON    EOAED.  239 

to  avoid  with  great  care  the  gossiping, 
laughing,  flirting  groups  scattered  here 
and  there. 

Mrs.  Cox  was  much  amused  at  Lil's 
description  of  her  one  acquaintance,  whose 
name  she  did  not  know,  and  graciously 
permitted  her  to  encourage  his  attentions  ; 
an  old  fellow,  shabby  and  poor,  was  not 
compromising,  and  on  board  there  are  so 
few  things  to  talk  about ! 

One  evening,  the  deck  being  almost 
deserted,  Lil,  instead  of  going  down  early 
to  her  cabin  as  she  usually  did,  remained 
quietly  walking  up  and  down,  enjoying  the 
beauty  of  the  night.  She  was  in  a 
peaceful,  happy  frame  of  mind;  she  had 
always  been  very  accessible  to  the  influence 
of  beauty  in  nature,  and  now  that  sorrow 
and  trouble  had  begun  to  deepen  her  nature, 
she  felt  that  influence  more  than  ever.  It 


240  STORM-DRIVEN. 

was  a  clear,  still  night ;  an  immense  calm 
had  come  over  the  usually  restless  ocean, 
the  waves  themselves  had  a  sleepy  rocking 
way  of  breaking  about  the  ship's  sides,  and 
a  glorious  moonlight  made  visible  the  end 
less  expanse  of  water;  one  had  to  look, 
however,  with  great  attention,  to  distinguish 
the  horizon,  there  where  the  infinity  of 
waters  touched  the  infinity  of  sky.  There 
was  a  broad  band  of  dazzling  white  light  on 
the  water,  a  shining  silver  pathway,  in 
which  the  ship  threaded  its  way.  Lil 
presently  leaned  against  the  stern  of  the 
boat,  drawing  her  shawl  closely  about  her ; 
she  looked  out  on  the  glittering  moonlight 
path — to  her  it  seemed  like  the  road  to  a 
new  life,  on  which  she  was  being  hurried. 
She  was  so  young  that  it  appeared 
impossible  that  this  new  life  should  be 
other  than  one  of  poetry  and  happiness. 


ON   EOAED.  241 

How  beautiful  ifc  all  was !  the  sky,  the 
moonlight,  and  the  golden  waking  dreams  ! 
Once  she  remembered  that  the  railing  she 
leaned  on  alone  separated  her  from  destruc 
tion,  that  the  beautiful  sea,  now  so  peaceful, 
might  become  suddenly  full  of  stormy 
terrors,  that  the  future  she  pictured  to 
herself  as  so  fair  might  be  full  of  disen- 
chantments  and  dangers.  She  shivered 
slightly,  and  made  an  effort  to  change  the 
current  of  her  thoughts. 

"You  are  cold — put  this  about  you." 
Lil  started,  she  had  heard  no  footsteps 
approaching   her;    but   she   smiled   quite 
reassured  when  she  recognized  her  table- 
companion. 

"  Thanks  ! "  she  said,  and  allowed  him  to 
wrap  a  soft  shawl  about  her;  he  did  this 
seriously,  but  with  a  certain  fatherliness, 
which,  in  another  man,  might  have  seemed 

VOL.    I.  E 


242  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

almost  chivalrous.  It  was  not  till  site  had 
felt  the  comforting  warmth  of  the  wrap, 
that  she  perceived  that  it  belonged  to  the 
young  lady  whose  features  she  had  the 
pleasure  of  studying  every  meal-time.  Her 
companion  understood  her  look. 

"Yes,"  he  said  coolly,  "it  is  hers,  I 
picked  it  up  there;"  and  he  pointed  to  a 
little  pile  of  books  and  other  objects  which 
the  careless  girl  had  left  at  her  accustomed 
place.  "You  don't  suppose  I  own  such 
an  affair  as  that  ?  Do  not  take  it  off ;  it 
might  as  well  keep  you  warm  as  protect 
her  camp-stool  from  the  night  air."  She 
had  never  before  heard  him  utter  so  many 
consecutive  words ;  there  was  a  little  autho 
ritative  tone  in  his  voice  which  made  her 
afraid  to  disobey  him ;  though  she  was  in 
mortal  terror  lest  the  rightful  owner  of  the 
shawl  should  come  and  claim  her  property. 


ON    BOAED.  243 

Her  new  protector  remained  by  her  side, 
staring  at  the  moonlight,  but  quite  silent, 
enjoying  his  silence  apparently,  and  perhaps 
also  enjoying  the  young  girl's  embarrass 
ment. 

"What  were  you  thinking  about  just 
now?"  he  at  last  said. 

"I  was  wondering,"  answered  Lil 
dreamily,  so  glad  to  have  some  one  to  talk 
to,  that  she  did  not  think  of  being  prudently 
reticent;  "I  was  wondering  what  my  life 
would  be — wondering  whether  this  white 
path  on  the  water,  did  not  lead  to  some 
beautiful  fairy-land.  I  so  long  for 
happiness!"  she  said,  in  a  low  passionate 
tone,  quite  forgetting  to  whom  she  was 
speaking :  there  are  moments  in  life  when 
one  would  pour  out  one's  confidences  to  a 
painter's  lay-figure,  rather  than  keep  them 
shut  up  in  one's  heart. 
B  2 


244  STOEM-DEIVEN. 

"Humph! "  grunted  the  stranger,  "that's 
all  very  nice  and  poetical,  I  suppose ;  but 
I  am  not  a  poetical  man  myself.  I  suppose, 
in  plain  English,  it  means  that  you  were 
wondering  whether  some  young  fellow,  as 
beautiful  as  a  prince  in  a  fairy  tale,  and 
as  rich — as  rich  as  a  Pennsylvania  oil-man, 
would  be  so  good  as  to  fall  in  love  with 
you,  and  marry  you  off-hand." 

Lil  laughed  a  little,  but  did  not  answer, 
she  rather  wished  the  shaggy-browed  man 
would  go  away  and  leave  her  to  her  half- 
conscious  dreams ;  after  another  short 
silence  he  pursued, — 

"You  are  not  going  the  right  way  to 
find  that  desirable  fellow;  why  do  you 
not  go  with  the  other  girls,  and  flirt  as 
they  do  ?  there  are  some  nice  young  men 
on  board,  ^whose  shirts  are  immaculate, 
and  whose  neckties  are  faultless.  Why 


ON   BOAED.  245 

do  you  sit  by  yourself,  and  look  frightened 
if  any  one  speaks  to  you  ?" 

"  Did  I  look  frightened  when  you  offered 
me  the  pickles  ?"  said  Lil,  with  a  malicious 
look :  she  did  not  care  to  answer  the  first 
part  of  his  speech. 

"No,  but  that's  different;  I  am  not  a 
well-dressed  beau ;  you  would  not  think 
of  flirting  with  me,  I  presume  ?" 

"With  you?  0  dear  no!"  answered 
Lil,  with  hearty  conviction. 

Her  companion  glanced  at  her  from 
under  his  beetle  brows,  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  her  sincerity.  At  that  moment,  a 
clear,  beautiful  voice  reached  them — a  rare 
voice,  a  little  cold,  perhaps — which  har 
monized  marvellously  with  the  moonlight 
and  the  cool  clear  air. 

<•  Hark  I"  said  Lil,  "  it  is  a  mermaid  !  " 

"It   is  the    singing-woman  from    New 


246  STORM-DKIVEN. 

York,5'  said  he,  more  amused  than  ever ; 
he  had  a  very  disrespectful  way  of  speak 
ing  of  this  prima-donna,  who  had  won  a 
world- wide  fame,  before  she  went  to  "  do  " 
the  States.  "  Come  down  in  the  saloon 
and  hear  her ;  all  the  company's  there." 

"  Oh  !  no,"  said  Lil,  shrinking  back. 

"  Do  not  be  afraid,  I  will  take  care  of 
you ;  no  one  need  see  two  insignificant 
beings  like  us." 

She  allowed  herself  to  be  persuaded ; 
she  was  very  fond  of  music,  and  her 
reveries  had  disposed  her  to  enjoy  it  more 
than  usual;  she  followed  her  guide,  and 
they  slipped  into  reasonably  good  places 
without  having  attracted  the  least  atten 
tion — every  one  was  listening  spell-bound 
to  the  wonderful  singer.  Lil,  when  she 
was  once  fairly  in  her  seat,  was  glad  she 
had  allowed  herself  to  be  brought  down, 


ON   BOARD.  247 

she  had  had  so  few  occasions  of  hearing 
any  music  during  the  past  ten  months, 
that  her  enjoyment  was  something  plea 
sant  to  watch ;  so  at  least  her  companion 
thought.  He  himself  was  much  of  the 
opinion  that  music  "  is  a  disagreeable  noise 
which  costs  very  dear,"  so  he  directed  all 
his  attention  to  the  study  of  LiPs  expres 
sive  face.  Her  greatest  charm  was  perhaps 
her  unconsciousness ;  everything  she  felt, 
reflected  itself  instantly  in  her  face ;  she 
was  what  she  was,  in  perfect  simplicity. 

"  So  you  think  that  very  fine  ? "  said 
the  stranger  to  her,  when  the  singing 
ceased. 

"  Oh,  yes ! "  answered  Lil  with  a  great 
sigh  of  satisfaction ;  "it  makes  me  forget 
all  sad  and  painful  things.  "When  I  listen, 
it  seems  to  me  that  life  is  very  beautiful, 
and  that  there  are  no  harsh  or  vulgar 


248  STORM-DRIVEN. 

things  in  it.     I  wish  she  could  have  gone 
on  for  ever  !  " 

'  Is  life,  then,  so  hard  a  thing  to  you  ? 
What  can  you,  at  your  age,  have  suf 
fered  ?  " 

Lil  looked  at  him  indignantly  ;  it  seemed 
to  her  that  her  troubles  were  greater  than 
any  other  troubles  could  be,  and  surely 
their  mark  must  be  stamped  on  her  face. 
She  said  in  a  low  voice, — 

;<I  lost  my  father  and  mother  at  two 
days'  interval,  not  a  year  ago,  and  we  were 
left  penniless,  my  sister  and  I." 

"  Indeed  !  "  There  was  a  softening  in 
the  gruff  voice,  as  though  he  were  really 
sorry  for  her.  "  Where  is  your  sister  ?  " 

"  She  stayed  in  Lakeville.  We  first 
tried  keeping  school,  but  that  did  not 
succeed,  so  she  turned  milliner."  Lil  was 
determined  not  to  palliate  that  dreadful  fact. 


ON    BOARD.  249 

"  Brave  girl,  that !  You  preferred  going 
into  genteel  bondage — seeing  the  world 
through  prison  bars,  eh  ?  The  shop  fright 
ened  you." 

She  did  not  answer;  it  was  taking  a 
liberty  so  to  judge  her.  She  pretended  to 
be  much  interested  in  the  preparations  for 
a  dance  which  were  going  on  about  her. 
The  stranger  noticed  her  little  hurt  look, 
and  smiled  at  it.  There  was  a  short  pause ; 
indeed  the  noise  of  dragging  chairs  and 
tables  out  of  the  way,  the  loud  talking  and 
laughing  of  the  young  people,  made  it 
difficult  to  keep  up  a  conversation. 

The  young  men  chose  their  partners. 
The  musician  who  had  accompanied  the 
prima-donna,  good-naturedly  sat  down  to 
the  piano,  and  struck  the  first  chords  of  a 
spirited  waltz. 

Lil  remained  unnoticed  in   her  corner, 


250  STORM-DRIVEN. 

and  she  forgot  her  past  indignation  in  the 
whirl  of  memories  which  came  back  to  her. 
The  last  time  she  had  heard  that  waltz  she 
had  been  the  centre  of  attraction,  the  belle 
of  the  ball,  and  Leigh  Ward  had  scarcely 
left  her  side.  Now — 

"  I  suppose  you  look  forward  to  seeing 
Europe  ?  Being  an  American  girl,  it  is 
your  bounden  duty." 

She  quite  started  as  the  rough  voice 
once  more  sounded  in  her  ears  — her 
thoughts  had  been  so  far  from  the  present. 

"Yes,  certainly,"  she  answered,  follow 
ing  the  whirling  couples  with  her  eyes, 

"  I  wish  I  did.  To  me  it  is  a  dreadful 
bore ;  what  do  I  know  or  care  about 
pictures  or  broken-nosed  statues,  in  long, 
wearisome  galleries;  I  don't  approve  of 
mouldy  ruins,  it  is  all  waste  of  capital ;  if 
I  had  my  way  I  would  build  nice  new 


ON   BOAKD.  251 

houses   on   improved   models,  and   sweep 
away  all  the  Colosseums  in  the  world." 

Lil  looked  at  him  in  horror;  perhaps 
that  was  what  he  wanted,  it  was  not 
amusing  to  see  her  lost  in  dreams. 

"  You  may  think  those  things,  but  you 
ought  not  to  say  them,"  she  answered, 
with  a  little  tone  of  superiority,  which  did 
not  escape  him. 

"  Oh  !  you  won't  betray  me,  any  more 
than  I  will  betray  you;  you  see,  I  never 
should  have  come  to  Europe  for  my  own 
pleasure ;  it  is  my  confounded  doctor's 
doing,  he  declared  that  I  was  killing  myself 
with  overwork.  I  dare  say  I  shall  do  like 
all  the  rest ;  you  may  meet  me,  guide-book 
in  hand,  staring  at  a  Rubens,  or  yawning 
over  the  antique ;  I  shall  do  it,  because  it 
will  be  expected  of  me,  because  I  shall  be 
whirled  along  with  thousands  of  my  coun- 


252  STOBM-DBIVEN. 

trymen,who  "do"  Europe  manfully,  stifling 
their  natural  longings  for  counting-house 
or  office.  I  am  already  pining  for  my 
counting-house,  it  would  be  refreshing  to 
take  up  a  good  thick  ledger  ;  think  of  what 
I  shall  feel  in  two  months !  0,  those 
doctors,  those  doctors !  as  though  one 
could  not  be  taken  care  of  at  home,  rather 
than  spend,  heaven  knows  how  much,  to  be 
bored  into  health  !  " 

"And  many  really  cannot  afford  it," 
said  Lil,  compassionately  glancing  at  the 
shabby  coat  of  the  speaker.  "  I  have  heard 
that  travelling  in  Europe  costs  horribly  ;  of 
course  I  have  not  to  trouble  myself  about 
it." 

"  But  I  have,"  continued  her  new  friend, 
"  think  of  my  hard-earned  dollars  wrenched 
from  ine  by  oily-tongued  Frenchmen,  or 
glib  Italians  ?  Strangers  are  dreadfully 


ON   BOARD.  253 

fleeced,  you  know ;  if  I  am  very  hard  up 
may  I  apply  to  you  ?  you  will  give  me  your 
name  and  address,  I  am  sure ;  and  if  I  am 
in  want  of  a  dinner  you  will  share  your 
earnings  with  me — the  poor  feel  for  the 
poor!" 

"  If  you  depended  on  me,  I  should  pity 
you,"  laughed  Lil.  "  I  possess  just  two 
dollars  at  this  present  moment,  but  at  the 
end  of  the  month  I  shall  have  something. 
Mind  you  only  apply  to  me  towards  the 
25th  of  each  month." 

"  Thanks!  I  shall  remember." 
At  that  moment,  the  waltz  having  come 
to  an  end,  quadrilles  were  being  formed;  one 
young  man  was  partnerless;  he  glanced 
rapidly  around  the  room,  at  the  three  or  four 
girls  sitting  in  wallflower  expectancy,  then 
advanced  to  Lil  and  asked  her  to  do  him 
the  honour.  ...  Lil  blushed ;  she  wanted 


254  STORM-DRIVEN. 

sadly  to  dance,  but  she  remembered  Mrs. 
Cox's  recommendation,  and  answered, 
"  Thank  you;  I  do  not  dance." 

When  the  young  gentleman  had  bowed 
himself  away,  the  shaggy-browed  man  said 
curtly, — 

"  You  wanted  to  say  Yes.  Why  did  you 
not?" 

"  Because — " 

"  That's  a  woman's  answer;  I  expected 
better  things  from  you ;  you  have  a  quality 
not  over-common  with  your  sex — frank 
ness.  Why  do  you  not  speak  openly,  as 
you  have  done  till  now  ?  is  it  because  I 
offended  you  by  praising  your  sister's  con 
duct,  rather  than  yours  ?  " 
"  No." 

"  Then  be  candid  with  me.  Why  should 
you  not  dance  and  enjoy  yourself  ?  it  be 
longs  to  your  age,  and  you  are  the  prettiest 


ON   BOAED.  255 

girl  here,  take  my  word  for  it."  Lil  glanced 
up  quickly  at  him,  the  rough  compliment 
did  not  displease  her. 

"Why  did  you  refuse  that  young  fel 
low  ?  he  is  good-looking." 

"  Because  I  was  afraid  of  forgetting  in 
the  pleasure  of  dancing — for  I  am  very 
fond  of  it — that  which  I  must  not  forget." 

"Which  is?" 

"  That  I  am  not  one  of  these  gay  people ; 
that  I  am  a  companion,  a  dependent ;  that 
I  have  to  earn  my  bread ;  if  I  were  to 
dance  and  enjoy  myself,  I  should  be  apt  to 
forget  all  this." 

"  And  why  should  you  not  forget  it  when 
you  can  ?  " 

"  Because  Mrs.  Cox  does  not  wish  me  too 
forget  it." 

"  Mrs.  Cox !  Mrs.  Cox  of  Lakeville  ?  You 
are  her  companion  ?  I  did  not  recognize 


256  STORM-DRIVEN. 

her  when  she  came  on  board,  she  was  so 
muffled  up." 

"  You  know  her  ?  " 

"Yes;"  then  he  added  after  a  short 
silence,  "  you  poor  little  girl !  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  Lil  startled ; 
"  Mrs.  Cox  is  very  good  to  me." 

"  So  much  the  better;  say  your  best 
prayers  that  she  may  continue  so."  He 
said  no  more,  and  Lil  presently  rose  to  go. 

"  Will  you  not  shake  hands  with  me  ?  " 
asked  her  new  friend.  Lil  frankly  held  out 
her  hand ;  he  took  it  and  held  it  in  his  a 
moment,  then  said,  "  I  am  a  rough  fellow, 
but  I  mean  well.  What's  your  name  ?  " 

"  Lil  Temple." 

"  Thank  you,  I  shall  not  forget  it." 

Lil  did  not  report  the  whole  of  this  con 
versation  to  Mrs.  Cox. 

At  last  the  voyage  came  to  an  end.     One 


ON   BOARD.  257 

morning  Lil  rose  to  see  the  city  of  Havre 
gleaming  in  the  sun.  There  was  great 
bustle  and  flurry ;  Mrs.  Cox  emerged  from 
her  long  eclipse,  as  carefully  dressed,  as 
perfectly  got  up,  as  though  she  knew  her 
self  to  be  the  observed  of  all  observers. 
She  was  in  good  spirits,  but  required  an 
enormous  amount  of  attention  and  care 
from  her  companion.  It  was  not  till  they 
were  about  to  go  ashore  that  Lil  saw  her 
dark-browed  friend ;  she  then  greeted  him 
with  a  smile.  Mrs.  Cox  looked  up,  and 
exclaimed, — 

"  Why,  Mr.  Smith !  you  on  board  ?  I 
did  indeed  see  the  name,  but — " 

"But  it  is  not  so  uncommon  a  one  that 
you  should  recognize  any  one  in  particular 
by  it.  Good-bye,  Miss  Temple,  remember 
that  if  I  am  particularly  hard  up,  I 
am  to  apply  to  you  ! "  and  so  saying, 

VOL.    I.  H 


258  STORM-DRIVEN. 

with  a  nod  to  the   two   ladies,    he  disap 
peared. 

"  So,  that  is  jour  friend  ! "  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Cox,  when  he  was  fairly  out  of  hear 
ing;  "I  congratulate  you,  my  dear;  you 
have  not  lost  your  time,  that  is  Barnard 
Smith  of  California;  one  of  the  three  or 
four  richest  men  of  the  United  States — I 
doubt  whether  he  himself  knows  how  rich 
ho  is." 


END    OF    VOL.    I. 


LONDON : 

GILBERT   AND    RIVINGTON,    PRINTERS, 
ST.    JOHN'S    SQUARE. 


